Just how difficult it is to qualify for the World Cup out of CONCACAF was brought home in the openers of the final round when starry Canadian and American rosters were ground to near halts on Thursday in respective draws against Honduras and El Salvador.
The North American rivals meet today at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennesse, at 5 p.m. PT in a crucial matchup after FIFA world No. 10 U.S. was held to a scoreless draw in El Salvador, and Honduras disrupted any rhythm and pace Alphonso Davies of Bayern Munich, Jonathan David of French-championship side Lille and Europe-bound Tajon Buchanan tried to establish for sa国际传媒 in a 1-1 draw.
sa国际传媒鈥檚 draw was considered more ominous because it came at BMO Stadium in Toronto, the first home game for sa国际传媒 in nearly two years, after two 2020 national team games scheduled for Starlight Stadium in Langford were cancelled due to the pandemic.
鈥淲e鈥檙e in enemy territory [more than 36,000 advance tickets have been sold for today鈥檚 game in Nashville],鈥� said Canadian team coach John Herdman. 鈥淚t鈥檚 always difficult in CONCACAF,鈥�
sa国际传媒 says it absorbed the lessons well from the opening game against a tough and savvy Honduran side.
鈥淓arning results in CONCACAF is no easy feat,鈥� said Canadian defender Alistair Johnston, who plays club for Nashville SC of MLS.
鈥淭here is so much more we can give. There is so much more we can do. We knocked off the rust and can get into our groove with the jitters out of the way. OK, we鈥檙e here, and this is real. Let鈥檚 get after it. We go into every game looking for three points. If you鈥檙e thinking draw [on the road], you鈥檙e holding yourself back.鈥�
The world top-10 status of the U.S. pretty much says it all about the rise of American soccer.
鈥淭he U.S. is an exciting team with all sorts of weapons,鈥� said Herdman. 鈥淭he U.S. fan base must be happy to watch this game. We have to be beyond our best to come out of this place with a result. It all comes down to who wants it more.鈥�
U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter has labelled sa国际传媒 one of the most improved teams in CONCACAF.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had lots of contributions, from the MLS to academies to now the Canadian Premier League,鈥� said Herdman.
鈥淲e鈥檝e created a brotherhood and a purpose and a technical identity.鈥�
sa国际传媒 has not qualified for the World Cup since it was propelled into the 1986 planetary showcase with a team that included four players from the Vancouver Island Soccer League.
This is sa国际传媒鈥檚 first appearance in the final round of CONCACAF qualifying since the tournament for the 1998 World Cup in France. The two North American teams last met in the CONCACAF final round in 1997 with the U.S. victorious 3-0 at sa国际传媒 Place. sa国际传媒 is 9-16-11 all-time against its continental rival, including a 1-0 loss in the most recent game against the U.S. in July at Kansas City in the Gold Cup tournament.
sa国际传媒 hosts El Salvador at BMO Field on Wednesday to close out the three-game opening window of the 14-game final round. Depending on today鈥檚 result, that could be a near must-win game for sa国际传媒, even if there is a long way to go. Qualifying runs through March 30.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 three games in seven days in the opening window. But we鈥檝e got the depth, and world-class performers, to rotate players,鈥� said Herdman.
鈥淭he guys will get [their] opportunities.鈥�
The top three teams of the eight in the CONCACAF final round will qualify for World Cup Qatar 2022 while the fourth-place team will advance to an at-large, last-chance world qualifier.
