Morace sets May 10 fitness deadline for Canadian women

The members of the Canadian National Women’s Team have less than two weeks to make sure they are in top shape.

Coach Carolina Morace has set a May 10 deadline for all of her players who are carrying injuries. They must be ready to participate in full training by that date, or will be left off the squad for the upcoming Women’s World Cup. Morace feels that any players who aren’t ready by May 10 won’t have enough time to prepare for Germany 2011. Canada opens the tourney June 26 against the hosts.

Morace has to have a final roster of 21 ready by June 21.

The scramble for fitness has already been lost by striker Josee Belanger, who has scored five times in 11 appearances for the Canadian team. She indicated to Quebec media sources Friday that her injured ankle would not be ready in time for the World Cup.

Midfielder Kelly Parker is also racing to be fit in time to meet Morace’s May 10 deadline. Parker has played just 10 minutes in two subsititute appearances for the Western New York Flash of the WPS, where she teams with Christine Sinclair and FIFA player of the year, Marta. Parker’s time has been limited by a foot injury, and she needs to show she is ready to do more than simply provide a couple of minutes off the bench.

Parker was the 2010 MVP of the W-League; her Buffalo Flash then moved up to WPS.
Parker also won a W-League MVP award in 2004 as a member of the Ottawa Fury.

Sinclair and defender Candace Chapman, two automatic choices in Morace’s starting XI, will be allowed to remain with Western New York as the Canadians convene their final pre-World Cup camp in Europe. Sinclair had two goals and an assist in her first two games of the WPS season, and Chapman is seeing plenty of time on the pitch for the Flash. Because neither are anywhere close to being bubble players, the team is better served by having Chapman and Sinclair excelling in WPS as Morace makes hard decisions about who should round out the Canadian roster.

Sources have indicated that the Canadian Soccer Association is working on setting up a pre-World Cup friendly with the Swiss women’s national side. June 18 is the tentative date.