VAN DIEST: Canada ready for historic night of World Cup qualifying

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With three days to acclimatize for freezing temperatures and a synthetic turf, the Canadian males’s nationwide soccer group is able to kickoff an important 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier in opposition to Costa Rica on Friday.

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Almost 50,000 followers are anticipated to converge on Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton for Canada’s seventh sport within the 14-game quest to qualify for Qatar 2022. Canada may even host Mexico at Commonwealth Stadium on Tuesday.

Organizers are opening the gates two hours early in anticipation of the massive crowd, hoping to have everybody of their seats by kickoff.

“I feel there was good temper in the beginning of the week, you sensed that connection, however you possibly can really feel the group are actually beginning to get right down to enterprise,” Canada head coach John Herdman stated on Thursday. “I feel tactically, they’ve come collectively during the last couple of days; I’ve seen some good progress.

“As I’ve stored saying to them, we don’t must play the event, it is a robust match in opposition to Costa Rica and we all know they’re going to carry a top quality that has taken them to a World Cup. We all know they’re a superb group, however we simply must deal with enterprise and that’s about what we do and our identification.”

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Traditionally, Costa Rica has been the third-best group within the area behind Mexico and the USA, and have 4 World Cup appearances to show it.

Canada has not certified for a males’s World Cup since its solely look in 1986, and are usually not solely attempting to wrestle third spot away from Costa Rica, however reel in Mexico and the USA above them, who meet in Cincinnati on Friday.

“It was thrilling to get the group again collectively and Edmonton has at all times confirmed up for Canadian soccer, whether or not it’s been ladies’s or the boys’s group up to now, so we’re excited to really feel that power and see this place packed out,” fullback Alistair Johnston stated. “It’s positively colder than what we’re used to, however on the identical time, it’s going to be a little bit of a tradition shock for each Costa Rica and Mexico.

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“We’re excited, it’ll be a superb sport. Costa Rica has quite a bit to show. They’re an excellent group, you have a look at that group on paper, they’ve guys who’ve a World Cup on their resume and have performed on large golf equipment. It’s a very good group and so they’re going to have behind their minds what occurred on the Gold Cup, which I assumed was one in every of our greatest group performances throughout.”

Canada defeated Costa Rica 2-0 on the Gold Cup event in July after which went on to lose a heartbreaker 2-1 to Mexico within the semifinal. Herdman stated the win in opposition to Costa Rica was a turning level for the boys’s program.

Since then, Canada has gone undefeated within the ultimate spherical of the Concacaf World Cup qualifiers with two wins and 4 attracts heading into the sport in opposition to Costa Rica.

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“I feel lots of people thought Costa Rica could be an actual robust take a look at for Canada in that sport,” Herdman stated. “I feel the turning level was simply how a lot management we had. I feel the gamers got here out of that with the idea we might go in and beat Mexico after that Costa Rica sport.

“This can be a totally different sport, we all know that, it’s World Cup qualifying and there’s a lot at stake for Costa Rica. For them, it is a six-point match. For us, we are able to put ourselves eight factors away from what normally is the third-best group in Concacaf.”

Canada is presently third within the eight-team standings, one level again of the USA, two forward of Panama and 4 up on Costa Rica. The highest three groups after the home-and-away spherical robin qualify for the World Cup in Qatar, whereas the fourth-place group advances to a continental playoff with a group from one other area for an additional berth into the event.

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“We are able to actually see the nation is behind us and believes in us,” Canada striker Jonathan David stated. “It’s going to a really particular evening and I hope we are able to ship.

“I at all times believed rising up that we had actually good gamers across the nation and we simply wanted to seek out them and little by little we did discover them and so they’re all on the group now. I feel the group proper now’s in an excellent stage and we’re prepared.”

The nationwide group that includes David, who performs for French champions Lille, Alphonso Davies of Bayern Munich, goalkeeper Milan Borjan of Purple Star Belgrade, Stephen Eustaquio of Pacos de Ferreira in Portugal, and Cyle Larin of Besiktas in Turkey, amongst others, is taken into account probably the most proficient males’s group ever fielded by Canada.

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The group expects to qualify for the World Cup in 2022 earlier than getting an automated berth as co-hosts in 2026.

“Since Day 1, since I’ve been right here, we’ve seemed round and seen the expertise that’s on this room and know it is a group that has sufficient expertise to go to a World Cup and we are able to make waves on the worldwide stage,” Johnston stated. “For us, nothing has modified because the qualifiers have gone on, if something, we felt we left some factors on the desk, which has been irritating to us.

“Our large factor this week is to not be complacent, we all know the place we’re within the desk and we all know now we have to maintain successful video games, and most significantly, win video games at house and now we have an excellent alternative this week to get six factors.”

QUICK KICKS

Larin has been battling a abdomen virus based on Herdman and didn’t prepare the previous two days … Costa Rican star goalkeeper Keylor Navas of Paris Saint-Germain won’t play in opposition to Canada and didn’t make the journey to Edmonton.

Electronic mail: dvandiest@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @DerekVanDiest