Canada face Haiti in head-to-head series for a spot in the Concacaf Final Round

Canada Soccer Men’s National Team have arrived in Haiti with purpose and determination on their journey to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. Canada will face Haiti in a head-to-head series with only the winner moving forward to the Concacaf Final Round in FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Qualifiers.

“The purpose is clear: we know this team wants to take this country to the next level,” said John Herdman, Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team Head Coach. “When that purpose is clear, it ignites the passion. From there, it is just about the process and the players delivering what they can deliver. We have set a real target for these guys to push to that next level of performance.”

Both matches in this Concacaf Second Round will be broadcast live on OneSoccer with the Saturday Haiti-Canada match scheduled to kick off at 17.00 ET / 14.00 PT from Stade Sylvio Cator in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The Tuesday Canada-Haiti match is scheduled for 21.00 ET / 18.00 PT (20.00 local in Bridgeview, Illinois). Fans will find extended coverage across Canada Soccer’s digital channels on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube featuring the hashtag #CANMNT.

“Canada Soccer are going in the right direction and there is no better time than right now,” said Doneil Henry, Men’s National Team centre back. “We are trying to make a difference now and not wait any longer and make sure that everybody understands what’s at stake. With John in charge as the head of this team, I think everyone is crystal clear what’s in front of us.”

Canada were perfect 4-0-0 in the Concacaf First Round Group B, the first-time ever that Canada won four-straight matches in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers since they entered the competition in 1957. Canada’s 4:0 victory over Suriname marked the first time since 1985 that Canada won a FIFA World Cup Qualifiers round finale in which a loss would have eliminated them.

Haiti, meanwhile, were 3-0-0 in the Concacaf First Round Group F in March and June 2021. Two years ago, the former Concacaf champions finished first in 2018-19 Concacaf Nations League Qualifying (just ahead of Canada on goals scored) and finished third at the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup. They finished third in their group in 2019-20 Concacaf Nations League A and were relegated to League B.

Canada have been looking forward to their rematch with Haiti since the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup, when the third-place finishers came from behind to win 3:2 in the Quarterfinals.

“We are looking forward to the match, we know it was a tough defeat to Haiti two years ago at the Concacaf Gold Cup, but we are excited for these two legs coming up,” said Alphonso Davies, who recently set a Canadian record for assists in a FIFA World Cup Qualifiers campaign.

In all, 35 Concacaf nations are competing in FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Qualifiers, with already 24 nations eliminated. There are six nations in the Concacaf Second Round, from which three winners will advance to the Concacaf Final Round to join Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico and USA. The three head-to-head series in the Concacaf Second Round are Canada against Haiti, El Salvador against St. Kitts and Nevis, and Curaçao against Panama.

“We’ve created something here, a brotherhood based on a shared purpose to qualify this team to the FIFA World Cup,” said Herdman. “They care about each other and that’s the first thing. They care about taking this team to the FIFA World Cup and you saw it in March when they had a chance to be back together and build on that spirit in the Canada shirt.”

CANADA SOCCER’S MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM PROGRAM

Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team, two-time Concacaf champions, were one of only four nations that have finished top-six across all three of Concacaf major tournaments across the past three years: fifth place in Concacaf Nations League A and sixth place at both the 2017 and 2019 Concacaf Gold Cups. In 2019 against Concacaf’s top three nations, Canada earned a victory against USA in Concacaf Nations League as well as eliminated both Mexico (U-15) and Costa Rica (U-17) in Concacaf youth competitions.

It will be an exciting yet busy summer of soccer for Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team Program in 2021. On the heels of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Qualifiers in June, Canada will participate in the 30th anniversary edition of the Concacaf Gold Cup, with their Group B match-es scheduled in Kansas City on 11 July against Martinique, 15 July against a yet-to-be-determined Caribbean nation from the preliminary round, and 18 July against USA. The top-two nations from Group B advance to the final round with the Quarterfinals on 24 July, the Semifi-nals on 29 July, and the Final on 1 August.