On the verge of a World Cup berth, Canada faces a hostile environment in Costa Rica

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This article was published 22/03/2022 (1658 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA—At least one customs agent at Juan Santamaria International Airport, the gateway to the capital of Costa Rica, wasn’t mincing words when he laid out what he thought of the Canadian men’s soccer team’s chances against the home country in World Cup qualification here on Thursday night.

He crooked his finger from behind the glass partition sheltering him from incoming travellers, as if to share a secret only the locals knew.

“Costa Rica is going to give Canada its first loss,” he said. With conviction.

On a past day, in what now feels like a different lifetime for Canadian soccer, the arrival of the men’s national team on Costa Rican soil for a World Cup qualifier may not have made much of a dent in public consciousness, other than presenting an opportunity for locals to visit San Jose’s majestic downtown stadium to catch the kickabout.

There wouldn’t have been red and grey hoodies dotting the visitors line at immigration, bearing Canada Soccer logos or forward Tajon Buchanan’s likeness. Most years, there wouldn’t have been as much as a game to travel to, because although the Costa Ricans have qualified for the World Cup five times since 1990, the Canadians haven’t been alongside them in CONCACAF’s final qualification round to compete for a berth.

This week, though, this game matters. Because the Canadian’s men’s national team made it matter.

For Canada, sitting top of the region’s qualification standing for Qatar 2022 with 11 of 14 games played, a win over Costa Rica means its first World Cup birth since 1986, clinching the country’s spot at global soccer’s biggest competition for just the second time in history. A tie or a loss could also solidify the team’s place at the World Cup, if results elsewhere in the region go Canada’s way.

Costa Rica, sitting fifth in those standings, one spot outside the World Cup picture and behind fourth-place Panama by a point, is in more of a do-or-die situation. Which makes the home side, who lost 1-0 to Canada in their last meeting in Edmonton in November, all the more dangerous.

“That match is everything in this moment,” Canadian coach John Herdman said on Sunday from Miami, where the team practised in preparation for a three-game window that will see it face Costa Rica here on Thursday, Jamaica at BMO Field in Toronto on Sunday and Panama away next Wednesday.

Luis Fernando Suarez’s side is, like Canada, coming off a successful previous international break, which spanned late January and early February. Costa Rica beat Panama 1-0 at home, tied Mexico 0-0 on the road and beat Jamaica 1-0 on enemy turf. The confidence in Costa Rica’s squad at the moment, backed by what will likely be a partisan crowd in a stadium that can hold up to 35,000 fans, means Canada may be stepping onto hostile soil at the worst point in this campaign — when its opponent is at its best.

“I think this is probably the toughest schedule in terms of heading into Costa Rica in a must-win match for them, at altitude and heat,” Herdman said. “Back to Canada against a team like Jamaica, with their quality that can play free, without the burden of qualifying. And then we’re off to Panama, who will be in another must-win game.”

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But these kind of matches are exactly the kinds of matches Canada was hoping to find itself in when it dreamed up this qualifying campaign. The “New Canada” Herdman has often referenced since he took over as head coach of the team in 2018 and rebuilt its culture is not some minnow in CONCACAF whose visits down south largely go unnoticed. New Canada is a force to be reckoned with in the region, the kind of team that has fans travelling and customs agents threatening. New Canada is putting the world on notice, trying to get through this qualification campaign with an unbeaten record to prove its dominance in the region.

There will be far more such games if and when Canada does solidify its World Cup spot. So that’s what Thursday night in Costa Rica be all about. Achieving the team’s most important goal, no matter the competition.

Herdman, for one, is up for the challenge.

“Let’s get it done.”

Laura Armstrong is a Star sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @lauraarmy