Canada's Dwayne DeRosario (right) tries to convert a goal scoring opportunity under pressure from Ecuador's captain Walter Ayovi (centre) during first half International friendly soccer action in Toronto on Wednesday June 1, 2011.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
It wasn't head coach Stephen Hart's first choice but Canada's national men's soccer team will meet Armenia in a friendly Feb. 29 in Cyprus, the Canadian Soccer Association announced Tuesday.
"We were trying to get a game originally with New Zealand in London but that fell through," he said on a conference call after the game was announced.
"Armenia were an option presented to us."
After doing a little homework on the team, he decided they would present a good challenge for the Canadian squad.
"They have a lot of attack-minded players that are playing at top clubs. ... I thought it would be healthy for our players to get one-on-one matchups against these sorts of players."
The match — a first-ever meeting between the two countries — falls on the first FIFA international date of 2012 and the relatively short 72-hour window means he will be calling up mostly players from European clubs.
"The intention is to use most all of the European-based players if I can."
Armenia had five wins, two ties and three losses in Euro 2012 qualifying, falling just short of a berth in the European tournament scheduled later this year.
Canada is preparing for the third round of the CONCACAF qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Canada advanced in the international tournament after posting an unbeaten record of four wins and two draws last year.
Hart is hoping for an exhibition game in late May or early June before qualifiers begin.