The early road of Canada’s last couple of World Cup qualifying cycles has taken meandering trips through the lower ranks of the Concacaf spectrum.
More often than not, Canada’s trips have featured comfortable wins over the likes of Dominica, St. Lucia and Belize. These games were usually chances for Canada to put up a few goals and then comfortably keep things in first or second gear the rest of the way.
The introduction of the Concacaf Nations League, however, has added an extra dimension to games against the minnows. Canada not only has to win against the smaller teams but win by big margins.
“Because this tournament will probably rely on goal difference, I think it’s good,” Toronto FC midfielder Jonathan Osorio said on a conference call before Canada's game against Dominica on Tuesday night at BMO Field (7 pm ET). “It makes us play 90-minute games. I’ve said this before and I think in the past, when goal difference didn’t matter you kind of go up four- or five-nothing and kind of coast the rest of the game.”
“It’s good to get into the habit of playing whole 90 minutes. Once we play harder competition, that’s the way it’s going to be.”
Although Canada put up a record performance a month ago in an 8-0 thumping of the U.S. Virgin Islands, that still put them behind Cuba, Haiti and Curacao in the standings.
Only the most improbable of results would see Canada somehow miss next summer’s Gold Cup but goal difference could prove vital to determine whether Canada plays the likes of the US and Mexico in Nations League A or the against weaker opposition in the B league.
“I haven’t been looking at any of the other scores. I honestly couldn’t tell you what the scores are in the other games,” Osorio said. “After the game, we’ll see how we are in the table and see what that would mean for our next game. That may change our mentality for the next game.”
The notoriously goal-shy Canadians now boast some of the most promising offensive talent in Concacaf with Alphonso Davies, Ballou Tabla and Jonathan David highlighting the attack.
Osorio played in a World Cup qualifier in 2015 when Canada beat Dominica 4-0 (6-0 on aggregate), but other than that, there are a lot of question marks around what Dominica might bring. That unfamiliarity, however, might work in their favor as the Canadians can surprise the opposition with a new ruthless side to their game.
“I would say it’s more interesting than anything because you don’t really know that you’re up against,” Osorio said. “But that could be a positive because that forces us to focus more on us and on our game plan. In a way, it’s good but it’s always interesting.”
