It may have been the low point in Canadian soccer history.
And, much to his annoyance, David Edgar remembers it all too well.
On October 16, 2012, Canada’s senior men’s national went into Honduras knowing a single point was all they needed to advance to the Hex – the final stage of World Cup qualifying in the CONCACAF region – for the first time since 1997. They had the hopes of a nation riding on their shoulders.
Those hopes were quickly shattered.
Despite creating some early chances, Canada saw their World Cup dreams come to a crushing end with an 8-1 defeat in San Pedro Sula. Fast forward four years, and Canada returns to the scene of the crime on Friday with similar stakes (2 p.m. PT on TSN).
It’s not quite do-or-die this time, but picking up a point – or more – would give Canada every chance of advancing to the Hex heading into their group stage finale next week at BC Place.
“You see what the women’s team did with back-to-back bronze medals and that’s fantastic,” Edgar said. “Now it’s the men’s team. It’s our opportunity to help raise the profile of the game in Canada. We’ve said all along, we need to get into the Hex. And we’ve got a massive opportunity to do that.”
The top two teams from each group will advance to the Hex.
In Group A, Mexico is already through with 12 points. That leaves Honduras (four points), Canada (four points), and El Salvador (two points) fighting for the final spot. There are still several different scenarios that could transpire – it’s possible Canada could even advance with a pair of draws.
The moral of the story is that Canada controls their own destiny – just as they did four years ago.
Edgar, who Whitecaps FC acquired in July, is one of six players on Canada’s current roster that featured in that 8-1 defeat. His Whitecaps FC and Canadian national team teammate Marcel de Jong was also on the roster but did not play in the game.
It was a difficult time for everyone involved.
“I remember getting back and going for lunch with my mom, and just sort of shutting off,” Edgar said. “I didn’t want to see anything, I didn’t want to see what was said, the news, or anything. It was a tough one to take. We were that close. And we knew what we needed to do. It was just one of those that may never and hopefully will never happen again in my career.”
Edgar, a native of Kitchener, Ontario, is one of the more experienced players on Canada’s roster, having represented the senior national team 37 times. In his last two appearances back in June, he wore the captain’s armband and started in central midfield, which could happen again in these next two matches with Will Johnson and Julian de Guzman (injury) not on the squad.
“Everyone knows how important playing for Canada is for me,” Edgar was quoted as saying on Yahoo.com. “If I can help the team qualify for the next round, I’ll do it. If I have to play left wing, I’ll play left wing. All that matters to me is that we get to the Hex.”
Following the Honduras match, Canada concludes the group stage next Tuesday, September 6 vs. El Salvador at BC Place. It will be Canada’s third straight home match in Vancouver, after a 1-0 victory over Honduras last November and a 3-0 defeat vs. Mexico in March.
A record crowd of 54,798 packed BC Place on that night.
“After that, the word in the dressing room to each other was, ‘We want to be back here,’” said Edgar, who now lives just down the road from BC Place with his wife and daughter.
“We love the atmosphere, we love the setup, and we got our wish. The federation has done everything to accommodate us in that. It’s down to us now to make it, bring it home now and create a bit of a party atmosphere come that Tuesday night.”
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