Bermuda's national soccer team will have to get the ball past an English Premier League goalkeeper if they are to register their first ever victory against Canada next Tuesday night.

West Ham United's Craig Forrest will be between the sticks for the touring side, who are using the game as preparation for next month's Gold Cup tournament in the US.

The venue for next week's friendly has still to be confirmed by the Bermuda Football Association.

Forrest joined the Hammers in 1997 from Ipswich Town, where he spent 13 years and made more than 300 first team appearances.

His outings with the east London club have been severely restricted by the presence of first-choice keeper Shaka Hislop.

The 32-year-old Forrest is the most experienced player in the squad with 45 caps and is one of several European-based professionals who feature in the Canadian side coached by Holger Osieck.

Midfielder Brad Parker, who plays in top-flight Dutch soccer with Feyenoord, and Jason Bent of Major League Soccer side Colorado Rapids, are likely to be a handful for Robert Calderon's team.

And three other members of the squad play in England, midfielder Marc Bircham at Millwall of Division Two, as well as Division Three strikers Carlo Corazzin of Northampton Town and Martin Nash of Chester City.

Corazzin, who already has 32 international caps to his name, is likely to spearhead the attack with Paul Stalteri, who plays in the German First Division with Werder Bremen.

The Canada rearguard will be bolstered by Jason de Vos, who plays in Scotland for Premier League team Dundee United, and Tony Menezes, of Brazil's Botafogo Rio.

But Bermuda will not have to contend with the man regarded as Canada's most dangerous striker, Paul Peschisolido of First Division side Fulham, nor fellow English-based pro Mark Watson of Second Division Oxford United.

Also uninvited is midfielder Jim Brennan who moved from Bristol City to First Division Nottingham Forest in a $2 million deal two months ago.

When coach Osieck explained the ommissions to the Canadian press, he said: "I will definitely require Brennan and the others for the Gold Cup tourney next month, so I did not want to ask for their releases for these warm-up games.'' Osieck also said the tour, which will start with a game against Trinidad and Tobago at Port of Spain on Saturday before the squad arrives in Bermuda, would give him chance to experiment.

"This will give me a chance to assess some of the players as I will be trying them out in different positions to see how versatile they are,'' said the German coach.

In six games against Canada, Bermuda have never won, having drawn four times and lost twice.

Canada have gone unbeaten in their last four matches. Last October, at a Gold Cup qualifying tournament in Los Angeles, they beat both Haiti and El Salvador 2-1 and drew 0-0 with Cuba, Bermuda's conquerors in the Caribbean Cup qualifying tournament last May.

And in September, they beat Jamaica 1-0 in a friendly in Toronto.

Also last year, Canada lost to Saudi Arabia, Ecuador and Iran, but beat Guatemala twice and drew 1-1 with Northern Ireland in an exhibiton match in Belfast.

The Gold Cup, in which Canada will play Costa Rica and invited guests South Korea in Los Angeles, is the CONCACAF regional championship, from which the winner advances to the FIFA Confederation Cup later this year.

Canada squad: Goalkeepers -- Craig Forrest (West Ham United), Lars Hirschfeld (Energie Cottbus). Defenders -- Jason de Vos (Dundee United), Paul Fenwick (Greenock Morton), Tony Menezes (Botafogo Rio), Nevio Pizzolitto (Montreal Impact), Carl Fletcher (unattached). Midfielders -- Richard Hastings (Inverness Caledonian Thistle), David Xausa (Inverness Caledonian Thistle), Jason Bent (Colorado Rapids), Marc Bircham (Millwall), Brad Parker (Feyenoord). Forwards -- Paul Stalteri (Werder Bremen), Carlo Corazzin (Northampton Town), Elvis Thomas (Toronto Olympians), Mauro Biello (Montreal Impact), Martin Nash (Chester City).