Music: {allcanada} Canada pursues World Cup dream in Cuba

Friday, June 8, 2012

{allcanada} Canada pursues World Cup dream in Cuba

It's not a must-win game in the sense that the team's fate will be automatically sealed by the final result.

But to hear some of the players tell it, Canada needs to win Friday's World Cup qualifying match against Cuba in Havana. A loss or draw in the opening contest of the semfinal round of CONCACAF qualifying will only make Canada's task of earning a berth at the 2014 Brazil tournament that much more difficult.

Friday programming alert: Watch Canada take on Cuba from Havana in a World Cup qualifying match live on Sportsnet on Jun. 8. Coverage starts at 1:30 p.m. ET / 10:30 a.m. PT.

"Playing against Cuba away from home, we definitely want to go out there and have a good start to the group stage. I think we'll feel like it's a must-win for us," midfielder Atiba Hutchinson said.

Teammate Julian de Guzman feels just as strongly.

"This will set the tone for us (winning the first game), something we failed to do in the last time against Jamaica at home," de Guzman said of Canada's failed 2010 World Cup qualification campaign.

"I think this game will be no different from that. If we can get the three points, that'll be a huge bonus for us coming back home to play Honduras next week. Getting a result is mandatory."

Just idle talk? Hardly.

Not when you consider only the top two teams in this round robin group advance to "the Hex," the final qualifying round in CONCACAF, and that Canada, ranked 77th in the world, faces far more daunting challenges down the road against Panama (46th) and Honduras (55th) than on Friday versus Cuba (145th).

What's more, Canada has historically struggled to win away from home, and looking at this group they'll probably need at least 10 points to have a shot at moving on to the next round. Canada can't afford to drop valuable points against the modest Cubans if it's going to reach that 10-point plateau.

Friday's game at Havana's Estadio Pedro Marrero will be played in the afternoon, with the blazing sun expecting to be out in full force. The hot and muggy conditions won't make it any easier for the Canadian players, but there isn't anything they can do about the weather.

The key to success for Canada, according to de Guzman, is to stay disciplined, be composed and remain patient against what he expects will be a physical and athletic Cuban side.

He also believes Canada has to make the most of its opportunities in front of goal, something it didn't do when it spurned several glorious scoring chances in a recent friendly with the United States that ended 0-0.

"Cuba is going to stay tight around their 18-yard box and we just have to be able to maintain possession and whenever we have a chance to find openings or gaps, we have to take shots," de Guzman stated.

"I think we'll have a lot of opportunities to score, we just need to convert those opportunities. That'll be the difference."

As for Canadian coach Stephen Hart, it's not likely he'll stray too far from the game plan he used against the U.S., one that saw his team stay compact and maintain its defensive shape before hitting out on the counter-attack.

And don't expect him to abandon the 4-5-1 formation he used for a more attack-minded setup featuring more players up front.

"You have to ask if throwing on more attackers is going to give you goals," Hart said. "I don't think throwing on a bunch of attackers will make a difference. In football, everything is about the balance."

Hutchinson travelled to Cuba with the team but Hart didn't say if the star midfielder, who has been bothered by a nagging injury, would play on Friday.

"He has looked good in training but match fitness is a big question mark," Hart said.

Canada returns home to hosts Honduras in its next qualifying match on June 12 at Toronto's BMO Field.