Canada Set for the Quest for Qatar

It has been over four years since the Canadian Men's national team played a World Cup Qualifying match. It was a 3-1 win over El Salvador, but it never felt like a win. At the same time, Honduras was able to scrape by with a 0-0 draw in Mexico.  

I remember writing on this blog almost nine years ago, the night before Canada would take on Cuba in the Brazil World Cup Qualifiers. The negative eel the media had placed on the team was startling to me. They made it seem like we were the worst team in the region. I kept telling people that we are a better team than we think and thought if we had more than a chance to get to the Hex in 2013.  

The sour taste how that campaign ended gave me a heartache. I will still believe to this day that if Dwayne De Rosario does not get hurt in Panama City or if we weren't missing a handful of players when we were at Honduras that things would have not ended the way they did.  

2018 WCQ showed promise, but again it felt too similar. A draw in Game two of the Semi Final stage again ended up being the dagger. We were in the Group of Death so that gave me hope for the future.  

Four years later we start a quest for being Canada's biggest success story of 2022. Things have changed quite a bit this time around. A different Qualifying format has given us hope that we haven't seen in nearly three decades. On the pitch, things are looking special. We have players from some of Europe's best teams.  

Final round or bust needs to be the motto. 14 extra games that might or might not go well but at the very least they will be huge building games for 2026.  

First thing is first however and that is to win Group B that will feature Suriname as Canada's toughest threat. Aruba, Bermuda and Caymon Islands also included.  

I believe Canada was the seventh best team in Concacaf the last two qualifying cycles. Even if that holds, Canada should find itself in the final stage.  

Despite it being an easy group, something does not sit well. Maybe it's the fact that the last game of the group stage my plot two 3-0-0 teams against each other. With only 90 minutes to get a goal if our goal differential is worse.  

Then there is Haiti if all goes well. Would be a dragon slayer type game with what happened in the 2019 Gold Cup and Canada's consistent exit right before the final stage. Happened five cycles in a row.  

I'm so ready to see how this plays out. Just do not blame the grass roots if things don't go well. We have a team full of talent that is fun to watch.  

The anticipation that I have makes it fun for me to write. Just know I'll have a tough time sleeping tonight.