SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador – When the draw for the semifinal round of CONCACAF 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying was made, few people gave Canada much of a shot at advancing to the next round of qualifying out of a group containing Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador.
While there is still a long way to go, a win and a draw after two games is at least a sign that Benito Floro’s team won’t be pushovers. Segments of Tuesday night’s scoreless draw with El Salvador even gave the impression that Canada could get more points on the road.
The players certainly think more is possible from this team.
“With a decent away performance here, I think we've achieved what we set out to do. Still, it's a little bit disappointing because there were times in the game where we could have taken advantage,” said defender Adam Straith. “It was a winnable game. At the same time, they're a good team and it was a deserved draw.”
Canada’s results in Central America, or lack thereof, have more often than not proven to be their downfall.
Hostile crowds, uneven surfaces and hot and muggy conditions have conspired to throw Canadian teams off their game but on Tuesday night, Canada had a decent shout at coming away with three points had some chances not gone begging.
Getting any points out of Mexico will always be tough. But with a trip to a slumping Honduras still to come in 2016, there could be no better chance at vengeance from that infamous encounter the last time the two countries met in Honduras.
“In a game, anything can happen, so we are going to correctly prepare our games,” said Floro. “We trust in ourselves that winning every game is possible.”
With hopes having been dashed time and again over the years in seemingly new and different soul-crushing ways every time, optimism is always tentative in Canadian soccer circles. But given the modest expectations heading into this cycle, November was certainly a good month for the team.
