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While much has been made of the fact that Canada’s September 9th fixture against Jamaica will be the first match that the Canadian Men’s National Team will be play in Canada under Head Coach Benito Floro, it will also be the first time that the majority of the players on the squad will play at home since Canada’s last World Cup qualifying campaign.
According to Canadian National Team veteran, that fact has created a palpable sense of excitement among the Canadian squad as they prepare to face off against fellow CONCACAF side Jamaica.
“As for the games in Canada, I know that all of the players are always excited to come to Canada and play,” Ledgerwood told RedNation. “We always had good results during the last qualifying campaign when we played at BMO Field. We’re excited to play there again even though it is just the one game against Jamaica. Hopefully in the future there will be more across Canada. I think the guys are just excited to be back playing in front of a home crowd.”
While Ledgerwood has generally played as a central midfielder at the club level, Canadian National Team supporters can expect to again see him patrolling the flank as a right back under Floro.
“(Benito) definitely likes me as a right back and that is where I have been used in all of the games that I have played under him,” Ledgerwood explained. “I’m happy to play there and happy with the way that he is organizing the team with the tactics that we have.”
“We have great players in the midfield, where I normally play at the club level,” he added. “I have no problem playing at right back when I do come to the national team. It definitely takes a couple of days to get back into it. But I’ve played there pretty much my whole national team career.”
Interestingly, as Canada looks to reload and build towards the next round of World Cup qualifying for Russia 2018, Ledgerwood, who recently joined German side Energie Cottbus at the club level, is now immersed in a country that is fresh off winning its fourth World Cup.
Even more interestingly, a big part of that World Cup win came as a result of a remarkable semifinal match in which the Germans hammered Brazil 7-1 in front of their home supporters, with many drawing parallels between that game and Canada’s 8-1 loss at the hands of Honduras in their final match of the last World Cup qualifying run.
In Ledgerwood’s estimation, Brazil’s loss to Germany only hammered home the fact that any team can suffer an embarrassing loss at the most inopportune time.
“It’s football and it happens,” Ledgerwood said. “Crazy things happen in football. To see Brazil lose like that at home brought back little flashbacks of Honduras, but, like I said, crazier things have happened in football. As far as the way the Germans are going about it, everybody is excited over there. The way they train and the youth programs they have set up are phenomenal. I wouldn’t be surprised if they win again in four years.”
“We’re definitely over the Honduras result and it is definitely in the past,” Ledgerwood added.
Fast forward almost two years from the date of Canada’s loss to Honduras and a Canadian side comprised of many players from that World Cup qualifying run are now back together in Canada getting set to face off against Jamaica.
According to Ledgerwood, the continuity that comes from having a base of players who have experienced both the highs and lows of the CONCACAF region can only help the squad as it looks to gear up for next summer’s Gold Cup tournament and the next round of World Cup qualifying not soon after that.
“I think it is always important that you have a strong base in the team with players who have been in the side in the past,” the Lethbridge, Alberta native explained. “I think it is definitely important for the younger guys to have somebody who they can ask for help if they need it. It is also just important to have players who have gone through the qualifying before.”
While many of the players on the Canadian squad are the same, the hope now is that Spanish Head Coach Benito Floro will be the difference for a side that fell one point shy of qualifying for the Hex Round of World Cup qualifying for Brazil 2014.
To date, Ledgerwood, like many of his fellow national team players, has been impressed with what he has seen from Floro so far.
“To be honest, I think that it will (make a big difference),” Ledgerwood said. “I think all of the guys will be on the same page when it comes to qualifying and I think he has gotten through to a lot of guys, with a lot of the veterans deciding to stick around. He has also seen a lot of the new youth that has come through the system, which is going to be a major part of Canada qualifying.”
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