With their 2018 World Cup campaign in June looming, it was
vital that Canada finished their final preparations strongly.
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| Coach Benito Floro oversaw two wins |
The Canucks ended their 16-game winless streak with a 3-1 victory
over Jamaica in September, but promptly went another four matches without
winning.
However, this week yielded two positive results for the
world’s 116th-ranked side, with back-to-back friendly wins against Guatemala
and Puerto Rico.
Coach Benito Floro will be hoping his side will take
confidence from their current run ahead of their first competitive
internationals since July 2013.
Stat Attack:
·
The two wins were Canada’s first back-to-back
international victories since the summer of 2012.
·
The 3-0 win over Puerto Rico was the first time
since October 2012 the Canucks had scored more than once from open play in a
match.
·
It was Canada’s biggest victory since beating
Cuba on 8 June 2012, as well as their first away CONCACAF victory since that
match.
·
Canada are undefeated against CONCACAF opponents
under coach Benito Floro, with three wins and a draw since he took over in
August 2013.
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| Haber scored against Guatemala |
Double Delight:
Marcus Haber’s second international goal early in the
first-half, was all that was required to see off Guatemala in Florida for Les Rouges’ first win of 2015.
The team then made the short flight to Puerto Rico and got
off to a good start against the hosts, Tosaint Ricketts giving them the lead.
Substitutes Randy Edwini-Bonsu and Cyle Larin both found the
net after the break to secure Canada’s biggest win for two-and-a-half years.
Young Blood:
Orlando City’s 19-year-old striker Larin and Edmonton’s Edwini-Bonsu
both netted their first senior international goals in the Puerto Rico victory.
At the other end of the pitch, young Toronto FC goalkeeper
Quillan Roberts was given his Canada debut when he came on in the 84th minute.
The 20-year-old found minor internet stardom after scoring
for Canada from his own half in a 2011 FIFA Under-17 World Cup group game
against England.
New World Cup
Challenges:
The CONCACAF qualifying for the World Cup has been
overhauled ahead of the 2018 tournament, with more qualifying rounds being added
before the group stage.
Canada will enter at the second qualifying round and face a
two-legged knockout tie against Dominica, who beat British Virgin Islands 3-2
on aggregate in the previous round.
If they negotiate that home-and-away tie they will face
another qualifying round before the preliminary group stage, which is then
followed by the ‘hexagonal’ six-team final group stage.
Floro’s side are also preparing for July’s CONCACAF Gold
Cup, where places in the 2016 Centennial Copa America and the 2017 FIFA
Confederations Cup will be up for grabs.
Future Hopes:
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| Canada will be hoping celebrations can continue in 2015 |
In their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign Canada were
unlucky not to reach the hexagonal stage, entering at the old second round
group phase and winning their group comfortably.
In the final qualifying group round they missed out on a
place in the final group to Honduras and Panama by a single point.
In the new tougher process, Canada will be looking to go one
better and reach the decisive hexagonal, normally containing competitive nations
such as the USA and Mexico.
As well as this, Floro and co. will be targeting a place in
the FIFA top 100 world rankings with summer success as
their stock continues to grow.
Images courtesy of Steve Russell, Justin Edmonds and Jonathan Daniel, with thanks.
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