The result was never really in doubt but Canada comfortably took care of business at BMO Field on Tuesday night and now rides into the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup and the next round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia after an encouraging 6-0 aggregate victory over Dominica.
With Tesho Akindele, Cyle Larin, and Tosaint Ricketts leading Canada’s men’s national team’s three-pronged attack in the 4-0 win over Dominica in Tuesday's second leg, there are signs that Canada’s offence is coming to life just at the right time as some big games lie ahead in the next month.
“It was nice that everyone was involved today and it felt good to combine with these guys,” said Ricketts, whose brace on the night moves him to double-digits in scoring for Canada with his ninth and 10th career goals.“It showed that we have potential attacking-wise going forward.”
It’s a big summer for the team as these two games are the precursor to at least three games at the Gold Cup and now a fall season with more World Cup qualifying.
And with the win, Canada’s now unbeaten in five games – that includes a four game winning streak. The tests only get tougher from here on out but there’s a renewed belief that Canada can compete with the best teams in the region.
“I believe in our team because last year we played many friendly games against difficult teams and the performance of our team was very good,” said head coach Benito Floro. “If we arrive to this Gold Cup with the majority of the players in good condition, we can have opportunities to play at the same level as the stronger teams in the region.”
Canada will find out their World Cup qualifying path on July 25 when the draw for the future rounds takes place in Russia. Canada will find out their opponent for the third round, which is set to take place in August and September of this year.
The next time they’re in action will be at the Gold Cup. They open the tournament on July 8 against El Salvador at StubHub Centre in Carson, California before games against Jamaica (July 11 in Houston) and Costa Rica (July 14 at BMO Field in Toronto).
CONCACAF 2018 WORLD CUP QUALIFICATION PATH
- First round (March 23-31, 2015): A total of 14 teams (teams ranked 22–35) will play home-and-away over two legs. The seven winners will advance to the second round.
- Second round (June 8-16, 2015): A total of 20 teams (teams ranked 9–21 and seven first round winners) will play home-and-away over two legs. The 10 winners will advance to the third round.
- Third round (August 31 - September 8, 2015): A total of 12 teams (teams ranked 7–8 and 10 second round winners) will play home-and-away over two legs. The six winners will advance to the fourth round.
- Fourth round (November 7-17, 2015 / March 21-29, 2016 / August 29 - September 6, 2016): A total of 12 teams (teams ranked 1–6 and six third round winners) will be divided into three groups of four teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The top two teams of each group will advance to the fifth round.
- Fifth round (November 7-15, 2016 / March 20-28, 2017 / June 5-13, 2017 / August 28-September 5, 2017 / October 2-10, 2017): The six teams which advance from the fourth round will play home-and-away round-robin matches in one single group (often referred to as the "Hexagonal"). The top three teams will qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the fourth-placed team will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.
