Canada heads south for Mexico

Canada is off to Mexico in search of points in CONCACAF Stage III of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ Qualifiers. The team left Montréal airport Sunday morning, touching down briefly in Houston before making the final leg to Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico.



Canada faces Mexico this Wednesday 10 September at the Estadio Víctor Manuel Reyna in the group’s match day three of six. Mexico (2-0-0) is in first place with six points while Canada (0-1-1) is in third place with one point. Honduras (1-0-1, 4 points), meanwhile, hosts Jamaica (0-1-1, one point) in the other group match this Wednesday.



Canada needs points after opening this round with a draw against Jamaica (1:1 on 27 August) and a loss to Honduras (1:2 on 6 September). The team now has four games remaining, including two against the confederation’s top-ranked Mexico. While the Canucks travel this week to Mexico, the Mexicans return the favour next month for the 15 October encounter at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton (ticketmaster.ca).



Only the top-two teams in this group will survive to play in next year’s CONCACAF final stage. There are three separate groups in this CONCACAF Stage III, so there will be six teams in next year’s final stage.



Of note from the Canadian camp, Tomasz Radzinski stayed behind in Montréal to undergo further treatment to his injured finger. Radzinski suffered the injury as he hit the end boards in Saturday’s match at Stade Saputo. Patrice Bernier also didn’t travel with the team as he must serve a one-game suspension after collecting a red card in Saturday’s match.