When the Canadian squad selected to face off against Jamaica on Tuesday was announced near the end of last month, some were surprised at how many veteran players were included in the team, particularly considering the narrative that after the now infamous 8-1 defeat to Honduras during 2014 World Cup Qualifying Canada was going to be in a state of turning the page towards the next generation of Canadian Internationals.

However, Head Coach Benito Floro sees the process as more of a gradual progression.

“Yes [we’re looking at this game against Jamaica as a measuring stick],” Floro told RedNation. “But our mindset is still to choose the best players that are in the best condition and the only thought in my mind is to teach the players how to play the entire game.”

One of the young players that Floro did call into the squad is Montreal Impact midfielder Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé. As one for the future, he’s already learning a wide variety of skills from the experienced Spanish manager.

Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé on playing for Benito Floro and facing off against Jamaica:



“The whole team is looking sharp and slowly we’re trying to understand the principals that Bentio wants us to play with,” said the 19-year-old Sherbrooke, Quebec native. “He has us doing a lot of different things. For example, having the goalkeepers playing out of the back with short and quick passes or having players quickly switch attacks from one side of the field to the other.”

“It’s a pretty complicated system, but I think if we can do it well it’s going to cause the opposition a lot of trouble,” Gagnon-Laparé added.

Floro is attempting to get across concepts that have been almost non-existent to Canadian soccer players, so it will take time for concepts to sink in and become familiar.

“We aren’t just looking for the players to use combination play,” Floro said. “At this moment and in this game, for me it’s about using a variety of aspects that we’ve been working on throughout the week.”

Jamaica is a team in a similar position as Canada, as one looking toward a new generation of players to lead them forward. The Canadian national team manager sees the Caribbean nation as good preparation for the important games to come, including the Gold Cup, 2018 World Cup Qualifying cycle and the Copa America.

“Yes, we’re preparing the team for the Gold Cup, but at this moment the most important thing is to have good positioning in the CONCACAF qualification [for Russia 2018], as well as preparing the team for the Copa America in 2016,” Floro said. “Jamaica is a good team and our desire is to play well and win the game.”