VAN DIEST: Canada set for historic World Cup qualifying night

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With three days to acclimatize to the cold temperatures and an artificial turf, the Canadian men’s soccer team is set to kick off a crucial 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica on Friday.

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Nearly 50,000 fans are expected to converge on Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton for Canada’s seventh game in the 14-game quest to qualify for Qatar 2022. Canada will also host Mexico at Commonwealth Stadium on Tuesday.

Organizers are opening the doors two hours early in anticipation of the huge crowd, hoping to have everyone in their seats for the kickoff.

“I think there was a good mood at the beginning of the week, you felt that connection, but you can feel that the group is now starting to get down to business,” Canada head coach John Herdman said Thursday. “I think tactically, they have come together in the last few days; I have seen good growth.

“As I have told you, we do not need to play the occasion, this is a difficult match against Costa Rica and we know that they will bring a quality that has taken them to a World Cup. We know they are a good team, but we just have to take care of the business and that is what we do and our identity. “

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Historically, Costa Rica has been the third best team in the region behind Mexico and the United States, and has four World Cup appearances to prove it.

Canada has not qualified for a men’s World Cup since its only appearance in 1986, and not only are they trying to snatch third place from Costa Rica, but Mexico and the United States are ahead of them, meeting in Cincinnati on Friday.

“It was exciting to get the group back together and Edmonton has always performed for Canadian soccer, whether it’s on the women’s or men’s team in the past, so we’re excited to feel that energy and see this place packed,” said the fullback. Alistair Johnston said. “It is definitely colder than we are used to, but at the same time, it will be a culture shock for both Costa Rica and Mexico.

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“We are excited, it will be a good match. Costa Rica has a lot to prove. They are a great team, you look at that team on paper, they have guys who have a World Cup on their résumé and have played for great clubs. It is a really good team and they are going to have in their minds what happened in the Gold Cup, which I thought was one of the best performances of our team ”.

Canada defeated Costa Rica 2-0 in the Gold Cup tournament in July and then lost a heartthrob 2-1 to Mexico in the semifinal. Herdman said the victory against Costa Rica was a turning point for the men’s program.

Since then, Canada has remained undefeated in the final round of the Concacaf World Cup qualifiers with two wins and four draws heading into the match against Costa Rica.

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“I think a lot of people thought that Costa Rica would be a really tough test for Canada in that game,” Herdman said. “I think the turning point was the control we had. I think the players came out of that with the belief that we could go in and beat Mexico after that game against Costa Rica.

“This is a different game, we know it, it is qualification for the World Cup and there is a lot at stake for Costa Rica. For them, this is a six-point match. For us, we can put ourselves eight points above what is usually the third best team in Concacaf ”.

Canada is currently third in the eight-team standings, one point behind the United States, two ahead of Panama and four above Costa Rica. The top three teams after the round-robin round robin qualify for the World Cup in Qatar, while the fourth-place team advances to a continental tiebreaker with a team from another region for an additional berth in the tournament.

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“We can really see that the country is behind us and believes in us,” Canadian forward Jonathan David said. “It is going to be a very special night and I hope we can deliver.

“I always believed that we had really good players all over the country and that we just needed to find them and little by little we found them and now they are all in the team. I think the team is in a very good stage at the moment and we are ready ”.

The national team formed by David, who plays for Lille, French champions, Alphonso Davies from Bayern Munich, goalkeeper Milan Borjan from Red Star Belgrade, Stephen Eustaquio from Pacos de Ferreira in Portugal and Cyle Larin from Besiktas in Turkey, among others, it is considered the most talented men’s team ever presented by Canada.

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The group hopes to qualify for the World Cup in 2022 before earning an automatic spot as co-hosts in 2026.

“From day one, since I’ve been here, we’ve looked around us and we’ve seen the talent that is in this room and we know that this is a team that has enough talent to go to a World Cup and we can make waves in the international. stage, ”Johnston said. “For us, nothing has changed as the playoffs progressed, if anything, we felt like we left some points on the table, which has frustrated us.

“The most important thing this week is not to be complacent, we know where we are in the table and we know that we have to keep winning games, and most importantly, win games at home and we have a great opportunity this week to score six points. . “

QUICK KICK

Larin has been battling a stomach bug according to Herdman and did not train for the past two days… Costa Rican star goalkeeper Keylor Navas of Paris Saint-Germain will not play Canada and did not travel to Edmonton.

Email: [email protected]

On Twitter: @DerekVanDiest