No DeRo in Canada squad

• by Soccer America , Jun 25, 2013

[GOLD CUP COUNTDOWN] Interim head coach Colin Miller named Canada’s 22-man Gold Cup training squad -- one additional player will be announced by the Thursday deadline -- and there is one notable omission. Dwayne De Rosario, the 2011 MLS MVP, is not in the squad that includes eight players who haven't played the Gold Cup or World Cup qualifying.

“My thoughts were to try and find a mixture, a blend of youth and one or two senior players in the group,” Miller told Canadian reporters. “I’m excited to work with the guys and I can’t wait to get going.”

Miller said he spoke with De Rosario about his decision to take a younger group.

“It was just a case of numbers with Dwayne," said Miller, "but I saw certainly in the future, you know, Dwayne’s going to be a good age at that point when the next World Cup qualifying comes around. He was disappointed, as you would imagine, but it was something that I felt in this particular group it was a fantastic opportunity to talented young players.”

Another omission that may have explained why only 22 players were announced: 20-year-old Lucas Cavallini, turned down a call-up for “personal reasons" to remain in Uruguay, where he plays.

Canada opens training for the Gold Cup Wednesday in Oxnard, Calif.

Canada Roster:
Goalkeepers (3): Milan Borjan (Sivasspor/Turkey), Lars Hirschfeld (Valerenga/Norway), Simon Thomas (Vancouver Whitecaps).
Defenders (6): Nik Ledgerwood (Hammarby/Sweden), Adam Straith (unattached), Doneil Henry (Toronto FC), Ashtone Morgan (Toronto FC), Marcel de Jong (Augsburg/Germany), David Edgar (Burnley/England).
Midfielders (9): Kyle Bekker (Toronto FC), Julian de Guzman (unattached), Issey Nakajima-Farran (Alki/Cyprus), Jonathan Osorio (Toronto FC), Samuel Piette (Fortuna Dusseldorf/Germany), Keven Aleman (Real Valladolid/Spain), Will Johnson (Portland Timbers), Pedro Pacheco (Santa Clara/Portugal), Russell Teibert (Vancouver Whitecaps).
Forwards (4): Randy Edwini-Bonsu (unattached), Marcus Haber (Stevenage/England), Tosaint Ricketts (Sandnes Ulf/Norway), Simeon Jackson (unattached).