VANCOUVER, B.C. - Good Friday is finally upon us and the stage is set for tonight's CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying match between Canada and Mexico. The anticipation has been building all week in Vancouver as they have been preparing for the first of two matches against one and other that could determine whether one, or both teams, are a step closer to advancing from Group A and join 'The Hex".
Clearly Mexico is the heavy favourite, they have an abundance of big game experience, skill, and composure. Canada will have a sold out crowd of 54,000 fans that will provide a major boost of support. While neither team will be in poor shape if they fail to pickup a result at BC Place, coach Floro and his counterpart, Coach Osorio want to see their teams earn a result.
This match is much more massive for Canada, than Mexico. El Tri can afford to coast and take it easy with Tuesday's looming match at The Estadio Azteca. Canada won't want to go to Mexico City without earning any points in Vancouver. If that's the case, does this make Canada vs Mexico at BC Place a must get a result game for Canada? RedNation Online asked a trio of Canadians.
"Yeah, we see both of the games, as must get a result", said Tesho Akindele. "We want to qualify as soon as possible, and get as many points as we can from these games."
Centre-Back Dejan Jakovic plays his club football in Japan with Shimizu S-Pulse and wants to see Canada pickup a result wherever a match is played. Footballers don't play the sport they love just to occasionally get a result once in a while.
"I think every game's a must win for us," said Jakovic. "That's how we're looking at it. It doesn't matter home or away, obviously we're going to have our fans behind us tomorrow night, so that's a bit of an advantage, but we feel very confident that we can go into Azteca to get a result over there as well."
Fellow centre-back Steven Vitoria was quite straight forward with his thoughts on a must get a result notion.
"Every game we have to have the mentality of a must get a result game or else there would be no point in playing it."
Standing in the way of Canada getting a result could be Bayer Leverkusen and Mexico's Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez. The quick and creative striker doesn't need many opportunities to unleash a brilliant shot on target and behind opposition keepers. If Jakovic or Vitoria start in front of goalkeeper Milan Borjan they will have to be on their game to stop the "Little Pea."
The 30 year-old Jakovic has some history of playing against Mexico, but not enough to write a book on their top players. Coach Floro will have had to share the tendencies and weaknesses of Mexico's top player and his teammates. When the opening whistle goes, the former DC United defender will have to make sure he takes away all time and space from Chicharito.
"I haven't played against Chicharito, but we played against Mexico in the youth levels and it's a very similar style. Very technical, and moving off the ball. These are some really good players, especially Chicharito. He's playing really well in Germany, good finisher and you've got to keep an eye on him at all times. He doesn't need much room to score, so definitely a challenge."
Benfica's Steven Vitoria has matched up with FC Porto and Mexico players Miguel Layún, Héctor Herrera, and Jesús Manuel Corona on many occasions. Although he may have advice and a scouting report somewhere in his head, he isn't about to divulge his notes on the familiarity of the Primeira Liga Mexicans.
"Yeah I played against them quite a few times, great players, but we're not here to talk about Mexico's players."
The focus is not solely on Mexico. The stage and task at hand is huge. Canada is finally back in the spotlight with the men's national team. The stakes are bigger than a Prime Minister Trudeau and President Barack Obama sleepover and state dinner. Canada can capture the country by making it to 'The Hex' and then earning a spot at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
It's not longer a dream off in the distance, the players, coaches, and fans know that the goal is attainable and must not be passed up. If Canada should come up short, this could very be the last few matches for many red, and white Canadian players. Dejan Jakovic doesn't want that to be the case and he and his teammates will be doing everything they can to qualify for Russia.
"This is our chance to qualify for the World Cup, I don't know if I'll have another opportunity," said Jakovic. "This is pretty much all, so we're going to leave everything on the field tomorrow. This is a big, big game for us and hopefully we can get the job done and get three points."
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