Canadians are expecting a tough qualifying challenge in Honduras

While World Cup qualifying has already taken the Canadian men to hostile ground in Haiti, Mexico and Jamaica in recent months, coach John Herdman expects his team will get a real taste of CONCACAF when it faces Honduras in San Pedro Sula on Thursday.

Herdman says the Canadians are “looking forward to being tested by the crowd, by the Honduran team that are really fighting for their World Cup survival — and just everything that comes at us.”

“We’ve spoken about these things a lot,” he added. “And we dealt with some of this in Haiti, some really interesting things that were going on behind the scenes that probably the public and media would never have been aware of … But, at the end of the day, this group are clear. They’ve got a clear purpose. No matter what is going to get thrown at us, I know that they’re as committed to getting a result as any team I’ve ever worked with.”

Thursday’s match at the Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano is the first of three in a week during the FIFA international window, with games against the U.S. and El Salvador to follow.

Canada (4-0-4, 16 points) and Honduras (0-5-3, three points) are at opposite ends of the table in the final round of CONCACAF qualifying.

The two teams tied 1-1 when they met in Toronto last September, but the 40th-ranked Canadians have gone unbeaten since, collecting 15 points, while No. 76 Honduras has added just two.

Canada holds a 13-5 edge in scoring in its first eight games, while the Hondurans have been outscored 15-5.

Still, Honduras traditionally has been a different team at home and the Hondurans have their backs against the wall in qualifying.

“It’s going to be a hell of a fight … It’s going to be a tough night,” said Herdman.

And San Pedro Sula is a tough place to visit.

A decade ago, Honduras’ secondlargest city held the dubious honour of being designated the murder capital of the world. Even today the Canadian government recommends avoiding non-essential travel to parts of San Pedro Sula “due to instances of violent crime, increased gang activity and violent demonstrations” while advising visitors to Honduras to “exercise a high degree of caution” due to crime.

The Canadians are not spending much time there, choosing to fly in and out.

The Canadians return home to face the 11th-ranked Americans on Sunday at Hamilton’s Tim Hortons Field before making the 3,400-kilometre trip to San Salvador to face No. 70 El Salvador next Wednesday.

Herdman calls its probably the trickiest part of Canada’s World Cup qualifying journey with a congested schedule, challenging travel, MLS players in pre-season and a half-dozen players on yellow cards. Not to mention the “COVID time bomb,” leaving coaches wondering what the morning medical update will bring.

“But I keep saying this to the group — ‘This is what we’re built for,’ ” said Herdman, citing previous travel during the pandemic.