With Canada starting the beginning of a journey that all involved are hoping will result in the second ever appearance by a Canadian side at a FIFA Men’s World Cup, Friday’s fixture against St. Lucia will also mark the first World Cup qualifying campaign for a number of the players on Stephen Hart’s squad, including young players such as Milan Borjan, Simeon Jackson and Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault. At 29 years old, Terry Dunfield is also set to appear in his first World Cup qualifying matches and the Toronto FC midfielder is suitably excited.
“It’s really exciting. It will be good to get past the disappointment of the Gold Cup and the way that we went out in that. I can’t wait,” said Dunfield today at Canada’s final training session ahead of Canada’s match against St. Lucia on Friday at BMO Field in Toronto.
Asked if qualifying for a World Cup would be the pinnacle of his soccer career, Dunfield responded by stating that it would, but also qualified that statement by reinforcing that it is stil very early on in the World Cup qualifying process.
“We’re not quite there yet, but, it would definitely be something that I would cherish. We’ll all be ready if we are called upon,” said Dunfield.
With both Vancouver and Toronto gaining teams in Major League Soccer in recent years, the advent of top flight professional soccer in two of Canada’s major cities has played a major role in growing the sport in terms of both media coverage and fan interest. The Vancouver-born Dunfield believes that an appearance by Canada at a World Cup would do wonders in terms of continuing the growth that the sport has seen over the last several years.
“I think it would be huge. If you look at some of the other countries where they have qualified for a World Cup and stuff has taken off. So this could be the springboard for Canadian soccer to really push forward.”
With Dunfield having spent the majority of his career playing in England, where hard tackles and colorful conversations with referees are the norm, many pundits have stated that the former Manchester City midfielder would have to adjust his game for the theatrics and sensitive referees that are common in the CONCACAF region. With the kickoff against St. Lucia less than 24 hours away, the former Vancouver Whitecaps Vice-Captain is confident that he has a handle on how he needs to play to be successful against CONCACAF opposition.
“I have had some experience with the other Canadian games and in the CONCACAF Champions League with Toronto, so I’m fully aware of what it takes to compete. So the boys just need to watch out for me in training!”
Asked if Canada’s disappointing results at the most recent Gold Cup opened his eyes as to just how competitive the CONCACAF region can be, Dunfield expressed his belief that criticism of Canada’s Gold Cup performance was overblown.
“I wouldn’t say that it was hard. I thought that we were so close to doing well. We were ninety seconds away from qualifying as first or second in our group, depending on how the other game went. So I don’t think we were a million miles off and that will give us confidence going into this World Cup cycle.”
While none of the players on the Canadian squad have ever played in a World Cup match before, Dunfield has recently become a teammate of a German International who has excelled in World Cup matches and who has played in the types of high level International matches that he and the rest of the Canadian squad want to be a part of.
“I’ve spent a lot of time with Torsten (Frings) on the road and some of his stories make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up – about World Cup semi-finals and European Championship finals. It would be nice to come back to him with a story.”
With six senior caps to his name and several training camps with the Canadian Men’s National Team behind him, Dunfield is confident that he is well integrated within the Canadian midfield set up and he believe the midfield position is an area of strength for Canada in which any numbers of players can get the job done for Stephen Hart.
“I think that the midfield is one of the strong areas on the team. There are some very good and talented players and I think we complement each other well and whoever Stephen (Hart) chooses will do the job.
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