Potential senior opponents for Canada in 2008

With the results from today’s 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Qualification draw, Canada’s men’s senior team now know their potential opponents for the 2008 season. Canada was drawn into Sub-Group 2/D with an automatic bye from Stage One. Canada will face Saint Vincent & the Grenadines in Stage Two in a home-and-home series in June 2008.



“From our point of view, it is all about us and how we play,” says head coach Dale Mitchell. “You have to beat good teams to advance to the FIFA World Cup. We have to be ready in June.”



Should Canada advance from Sub-Group 2/D, they may likely face México (2/A), Jamaica (2/B) and Honduras (2/C). The six-game round-robin series (home-and-home with each opponent) will run from August to November 2008. México, however, will first have to defeat the winner of Belize vs. Saint Kitts and Nevis, Jamaica will have to defeat the winner of Bahamas vs. British Virgin Islands, and Honduras will have to defeat the winner of Dominican Republic vs. Puerto Rico.



The top-two teams from Group 2 will advance to the CONCACAF Super Six tournament in 2009 with top-two teams from Groups 1 and 3.



México (2/A), the United States (1/A) and Costa Rica (3/A) were all separated into different groups as they were the top-three ranked teams back in May 2007. At the time, Canada was ranked 11th in CONCACAF. In the November 2007 FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings released earlier this week, Canada is currently the fourth-ranked country in CONCACAF. Canada had been ranked third within CONCACAF in both the September and October rankings. Their potential opponents are now ranked first (México), third (Honduras), 12th (Jamaica) and ninth (Saint Vincent & the Grenadines).



Canada’s senior team has never faced Saint Vincent & the Grenadines in international competition. The Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation was only founded in 1979 and has only been a FIFA member since 1988. In 2007, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines have lost to both Cuba (0:3 on 16 January) and Haiti (0:3 on 30 May). They defeated Guyana (2:0 on 14 January) in their one other match in 2007.



Canada has faced its other potential opponents in Group 2. Canada’s senior team has faced México 23 teams, but not since 15 November 2000 (a 0:0 draw in front of 6,564 at Varsity Stadium). Overall, Canada has a record of three wins, six draws and 14 losses against México. In World Cup qualifying, Canada has a record of one win, six draws, and nine losses against México. On home soil (all competitions), Canada has a record of two wins, three draws and two losses against México.



Canada last defeated México on 20 February 2000 in San Diego, CA in the Gold Cup quarter-final. Richard Hastings scored the winning goal in the 92nd minute. Canada went on to defeat Trinidad & Tobago in the semi-final and Colombia in the final to win the 2000 Gold Cup.



Canada’s senior team has faced Honduras 15 times. Their most recent encounter was on 2 July 2005, a Canadian 1:2 loss in front of 4,000 fans at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, BC. Overall, Canada has a record of five wins, four draws and six losses against Honduras. In World Cup qualifying, Canada has a record of three wins, three draws and one loss against Honduras. On home soil (all competitions), Canada has a record of three wins, one draw and one loss against Honduras.



Canada’s senior team has faced Jamaica 13 times. Their most recent encounter was on 8 October 2006, a Canadian 1:2 loss in Kingston, Jamaica. One month earlier on 4 September 2006, Canada won 1:0 over Jamaica in front of 6,526 fans at the Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard in Montréal, QC. Overall, Canada has a record of six wins, five draws and two losses against Jamaica. In World Cup qualifying, Canada has a record of one win, two draws and one loss against Jamaica. On home soil (all competitions), Canada has a record of four wins and one draw against Jamaica.



In the case of a major upset over México, Canada has a 2-0-0 record against Belize (both in World Cup qualifying matches), but no record against Saint Kitts and Nevis. Canada’s senior team has also never faced Bahamas, British Virgin Islands (either of which will face Jamaica in Stage Two), Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico (either of which will face Honduras).