As the Canadian national team looks forward to two crucial World Cup qualifying matches against Panama on September 7th and 11th, Head Coach Stephen Hart’s squad has been pretty much universally lauded for their top quality defensive performances in earning two clean sheets against Cuba and Honduras in the first two matches of the current round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers.

That said, the current main concern among many who follow the Canadian Men’s National Team has recently centered on the Canadian attack and whether or not it will be capable of producing enough goals to complement the impressive team defense and see Canada earn desired results in the team’s four remaining matches in the current round.

With that variable in mind, there have been encouraging signs in recent weeks that the Canadian attack could be coming together at just the right time.

Here in North America, Dwayne De Rosario recently scored his 100th career MLS goal, Terry Dunfield has shown a propensity for scoring dramatic goals and Patrice Bernier has been one of the hottest scorers and playmakers in the North American top flight.

Across the pond, the new European club season has kicked off and Atiba Hutchinson, Olivier Occean and Simeon Jackson have arrived at the current national team training camp coming off of impressive early season performances with their club teams.

According to a number of the team’s core players, the confidence that the Canadian team has built up in recent months has them poised to deliver a breakthrough offensive performance.

Head Coach Stephen Hart has always maintained that he is never particularly worried as long as the team is creating chances and the Canadian team has been doing that. The majority of his players concur with him and the see the team’s upcoming matches as an opportunity to see the final benefit from all of the good work they have been doing with their strong team cohesion and patient buildup play.

“We just need to be sharp in the final third. In soccer you only get one or two chances per game. We just have to capitalize on them and I think we’ll be good,” says forward Tosaint Ricketts.

Midfielder Julian de Guzman is quick to echo his teammate and he highlights the importance of Canada not falling just short of delivering a complete performance.

“We had chances against Honduras where we could have won the game and we came out with a draw. So we don’t want to experience that same situation again against Panama, where we get chances and don’t put them away. Basically, we have to put away our chances and keep them off the scoreboard,” says De Guzman.

It’s a cliché to state that confidence is a key aspect of high level athletic performance, but every cliché has real truth at its core. And nowhere is confidence more important than with attacking players. Therefore, the fact that striker Simeon Jackson was recently able to pot his first English Premier League goal of the new campaign just ahead of his return to the Canadian fold now has the forward in a confident and positive frame of mind ahead of the Panama fixtures.

“It’s important for any national team camp, that you have been playing and come into camp in good form and with some confidence. It’s definitely important to have gotten those few club games in,” says Jackson.

Canadian target man Olivier Occean recently made his first two appearances in the German Bundesliga with his new side, Eintracht Frankfurt, and he parroted Jackson in stating that he has arrived in Toronto feeling both confident and in a physically optimal condition.

“I feel confident and good physically. I’m looking forward to the game. It’s a big game playing for my country and it is a pleasure to be here. These games are very important for us. We have to win these games in order to make it to the next group phase. I think we are all very fit and all the players are playing regularly for their club teams,” says Occean.

Additionally, the Brossard, Quebec native has been buoyed by his recent move from Greuther Fürth to Eintracht Frankfurt and sees the change to a bigger club as something that will ultimately bring out the best in him, as well as a challenge that should benefit his performances at the International level with Canada.

“It’s a bigger club with bigger ambitions. Playing in Frankfurt, it’s a bigger city. It’s all about new challenges in football. If I make it through with this new club, it will be a very good experience. I’m looking forward to every game to play my best and to my potential. When you are at a bigger club, you have to perform every day in training and in the matches. Every little pass counts. That is the difference when you are at a bigger club. You always have to be on your toes and make sure that you play at your highest potential in every game,” says Occean.

Furthermore, the 6 foot 1 striker believes that he is now much more integrated into the Canadian attack due to a consistent run of games with Canada, as well as the hours that he and his teammates have put in together on the training pitch.

“I have gotten to know the players in the last several games. I know how they like to make their runs and I know exactly where all the guys are supposed to be on the field, so we have a good understanding now on the pitch,” says Occean.

According to Jackson, even though his club side Norwich City plays in a different formation than the one preferred by Stephen Hart, he generally concurs with Occean and believes he is now full comfortably with his role in the system in which Canada plays.

“We’ve been doing it for a long time now. You get used to it and you know what your role is. Like I have always done, I just come on and do what I can in the role and hopefully it is for the best of the team,” says Jackson.

Lastly, outside of tactical formations and match fitness, Jackson sees the team spirit and confidence that the Canadian players have in each other as vital intangibles that creates an environment in which the players are all well placed to succeed.

“In the games, anything can go either way and you have to make sure that you stick together at all times. We have that in this group. It has worked well for us and hopefully it will continue to do so,” says Jackson.