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Any athlete will tell you the hardest planes or buses to board are those for return matches after being resoundingly beaten at home.
That鈥檚 the kind of trip Adam Straith and Simon Thomas of Victoria, along with their Canadian teammates, embark on today at YVR en route to Mexico City for Tuesday鈥檚 fourth-round CONCACAF World Cup 2018 qualifying game (TSN, 7:30 p.m.).
It follows a thorough and compelling 3-0 victory Friday night by Mexico over sa国际传媒 at a raucous sa国际传媒 Place that was as loud as it has ever been.
The atmosphere, both inside and outside, exceeded that of the Grey Cup games hosted at the venue.
Thousands of Island fans were among the crowd of 54,798, the largest ever to watch a Canadian team play soccer.
It included an estimated 15,000 Mexican fans, many whom had made their way up from Washington state.
If they can create that kind of din, imagine what 95,000 can do at the mighty Estadio Azteca, the graveyard for so many CONCACAF teams.
Despite the daunting prospect of sa国际传媒 trying to score an upset for the ages Tuesday, Straith remained remarkably buoyant and unfazed following Friday鈥檚 game in which he and the rest of the Canadian backline was under constant pressure the entire night from a Mexican attack of great flair.
鈥淎zteca is a massive challenge,鈥� admitted Straith, who came up through Bays United and Lower Island Metro.
鈥淢exico does not let you see much of the ball down there at home.鈥�
Nothing against the world women鈥檚 hockey championships coming up in Kamloops next week, but Canadians were again reminded Friday that soccer is not just a two-country affair. It is the deepest sport in the world, especially on the men鈥檚 side.
If this Mexican side is the 22nd-ranked team in the world, you can imagine how well the top 20 plays.
鈥淲e gave up too many chances against them. When you do that, it鈥檚 dangerous,鈥� lamented Straith, who earned his 34th cap, and is the only player to have performed in every minute of 2018 World Cup qualifying for No. 87-ranked sa国际传媒 through seven games.
Canadian goalkeeper Milan Borjan showed why Thomas, like Straith, another Bays United and Lower Island Metro product who plays pro in Norway, and Kenny Stamatopoulos back him up and not the other way around. If not for Borjan鈥檚 brilliance in the box, Mexico might have scored five or six goals.
鈥淢exico pressured us,鈥� said Borjan, who plays pro in Bulgaria.
鈥淲e have to fix our mistakes. But we continue to believe in ourselves.鈥�
Mexico has the full nine points in Group A at 3-0, sa国际传媒 has four points at 1-1-1, third-place El Salvador has two points at 0-1-2 and last-place Honduras has one point at 0-2-1.
sa国际传媒 opened fourth-round qualifying play last November with a 1-0 win against Honduras at sa国际传媒 Place followed by a scoreless draw in El Salvador. sa国际传媒 closes the round at No. 89-ranked Honduras on Sept. 2 followed by a home game against No. 99-ranked El Salvador on Sept. 6 in the likely decider.
The top-two teams in Group A will advance to next year鈥檚 six-team final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, from which the top-three will advance to the finals in Russia. The fourth-place finisher will play Asia No. 5.
sa国际传媒 carries the weight of not having qualified for the World Cup since 1986, when Island players Ian Bridge, Jamie Lowery and George Pakos played.
