Canada faces tough battle ahead

For more information on this match, please visit the following fixture link.



Canada has a tough battle ahead as it remains in third place with one point in its CONCACAF group after three matches. Canada will likely need three-straight wins, if not a pair of wins and some bad luck to Honduras, if it wishes to advance beyond CONCACAF Stage III in the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Qualifiers.



Canada came on late, but was unable to score an equaliser en route to a 1:2 loss to Mexico this evening. Canada has one point (0-1-2) while Mexico has 9 points (3-0-0) and Honduras has six points (2-0-1).



It will be a long month ahead for Canada before its next match on 11 October in Honduras. This is the third-straight campaign in which Canada has just one point after three games, although this time Canada has bettered its output to three goals against tougher teams (it scored one in 2004 and none in 2000). Still, the goals have not been enough to collect any additional points.



The Mexico loss was Canada’s second-straight 1:2 loss. On 6 September, Canada lost 1:2 to Honduras at Stade Saputo in Montreal. Adrian Serioux opened the score, but then Honduras scored twice early in the second half.



After Honduras, Canada will face Mexico on 15 October at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. Tickets to this match are available through ticketmaster.ca (780.447.6822).



CONCACAF Stage III of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers run 20 August to 19 November. Only the top-two teams advance to the final round in 2009, something Canada hasn’t done since the 1998 campaign. In 2009, it will be the top three out of six teams that qualify automatically while the fourth-place team enters a playoff to play fifth-place from CONMEBOL.