The Canadian Men’s National Team returned to the training pitch on Sunday in advance of the team’s home fixture and final second round World Cup qualifying match against St. Kitts and Nevis at BMO Field on Tuesday. While Canada has already clinched Group D and booked a spot in the next round, Head Coach Stephen Hart was adamant that Tuesday’s game is anything but meaningless.
According to Hart, the mood among the Canadian coaches and players was anything but jubilant following the scoreless draw in St. Kitts that provided Canada with the single point it needed to clinch a spot in the next round of qualifying where it will take on Honduras, Panama and Cuba.
“We're not happy. I don't think any of the players are happy with the performance against St. Kitts and, to be honest, the fans and everybody that support us, have a right to be disappointed. We did not play our best. And even though we did qualify, we looked at the game again this morning and we saw once again the opportunities where we didn't finish. But we will get better. That's for sure. Our mentality will be different and I think you will see that come Tuesday night,” said Hart at BMO Field on Sunday afternoon.
While many observers have pointed to Tuesday’s match as the perfect opportunity to rest the starters and give some of the players who have not played as much an opportunity to experience a World Cup qualifying match, Hart was quick to state that he will be trying to find the right balance between giving some players a chance to show what they are capable of and using the game as another opportunity for the Canadian team to develop and gel ahead of the next round.
“We have had a discussion with the players. A lot of them still have a lot to prove. We have quite a few players that still have to come back in and the competition will once again become intense. But the way that we are going about this is what we want to come out on Tuesday night and consider it the first game in preparation for the next round. Tuesday’s game means a lot to us, as I said. I think we owe it to the fans. But I also would like to give some players an opportunity to say, ‘You should pick me’. So I will weigh both scenarios and will do what is best for the squad.”
With the fact that Canada’s next World Cup qualifier following Tuesday’s fixture won’t be until next summer suggesting that the Canadian team has significant time to fix the performance issues that have plagued the squad before the team faces off against significantly better competition, Hart was honest in stating that training and preparation time will be sparse due to the way the FIFA calendar is organized.
“We don't have much in terms of FIFA dates, so that will limit what we will do. It's more than likely that we will have a game in February and then that will be it. Then there will be a camp in May and an exhibition match and then you will go into the next qualification matches. So there is not a lot of time. But we want to make the best of the game in February, where we will probably do a little more experimenting. And then we will go into a long camp in May.”
Much of Hart’s tenure as Head Coach of the Canadian National Team has been spent trying to build up depth at each position and he was asked if he sees his team as set for the next round or whether he would entertain bringing in further new players to supplement the areas of the game in which Canada has struggled.
“I think there is always some sort of wiggle room there. We will see what kind of camp we will have in May. We may have quite a bit of numbers in and then cut it when it is time to go to the qualification. We haven't sort of made that decision yet. But I think I know what the best squad is and how we need to play. We have been working on playing two or three different systems depending on who is available. We know what the best squad is and we just need to be a little more clinical with our final pass and our finishing.”
Looking forward to the next round, Hart was asked whether there would be any inherent advantages in next going up against teams that he and his players would be very familiar with, especially considering the fact that they will coming off a set of matches of playing against three teams made up of mostly unknown and essentially non-scouted players.
“Of course (there is that). But the most difficult thing about the next round will be going into their environments. Panama, Cuba and Honduras - they are difficult environments to go into. So I think this additional round has served us well. It proved to us that a motivated team with a point to prove, even with less talent, can put you under a lot of pressure.”
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