Paul Stalteri, No. 7, has made over 50 appearances for Canada's national team. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Paul Stalteri is looking forward to coming home.

The Toronto native will suit up for national team duty when Canada takes on Costa Rica in an exhibition game Wednesday night at BMO Field, Canada's first match in Toronto in seven years.

Stalteri, a stalwart defender who plays in the English Premiership with London-based club Tottenham Hotspur, began his pro soccer career with the Toronto Lynx of the North American A-League before being spotted by German scouts and signing with Bundesliga club Werder Bremen in 1998.

Since then, Stalteri, 29, has developed into one of Canada's top players, making over 50 appearances for the national team and winning praise for his steely defensive play and leadership on the field.

CBCSports.ca spoke with Stalteri about playing for Canada, his views on Toronto FC and new Canadian coach Dale Mitchell.

Are you excited about the prospect of playing for the Canadian national team in your hometown?
Yeah, very much so. I think there's a lot of excitement around Toronto with soccer this summer, with the U-20 World Cup and Toronto FC. It's been an exciting time and hopefully the game on Wednesday goes well for us.

What are your impressions of Toronto FC?
They're struggling in terms of results, but they've had a lot of success off the field in terms of attendance, enthusiasm of the crowds. People say [BMO Field is] the best stadium in MLS, so looking at it from that point, I think it's been a success.

I'd like to see them have a bit more Canadian influence on their team, though. I think that's been the biggest disappointment - they haven't had the right number of Canadians playing for them, and I think if you can criticize them, they're not having much success with what they have on the field, and I'd rather see some Canadians in the starting lineup than foreign players, because that helps to develop the Canadian game.

Canada beat Costa Rica at this summer's Gold Cup tournament in the United States. What are you expecting from Los Ticos in Wednesday's game?
They're the type of team we need to beat if you want to qualify for the World Cup in 2010. It's a good test. We played well against them in the summer, but we'll see what kind of a team they field and how strong we are. We know it's an exhibition game, but it's always a good test whenever you play against a stronger CONCACAF team.

The U.S. beat Canada in the Gold Cup semifinals with a controversial 2-1 victory. The game ended in dispute after an offside call cost Canada an opportunity to send the match into overtime. Have you put that behind you? Or does it still bother you?
We've forgotten about it. It was a big disappointment at the time, obviously. It was an injustice on our part, not being awarded a goal in the last minute, but that's soccer for you. You're going to get some calls go your way, you're going to get some calls that don't go your way, and you can only hope that if we need a call in World Cup qualifying in a year or two that maybe it goes our way.

What are your impressions of new Canadian national team coach Dale Mitchell?
I think he's an experienced coach with a lot of knowledge. He knows what he wants from his players. He's early into his program planning and what he wants from the team, so we have to give him time to implement what he wants to do with the program and the team. Next year is when World Cup qualifying starts, so hopefully that gives him enough time to prepare, pick the players he wants to pick and hopefully we can have success with him.

He's played at the highest level as a player, he's done well in his coaching tenure at the under-20 level, so he comes with a good resume and hopefully he can bring success to the national team.

Do you think Canada can qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa?
I think, without a doubt, we have the strongest team we've had in years, in terms of the right mix of youth and experienced players. I think it's going to be our best shot at qualifying. It's one of those things where if you can by the second round of qualifying of four teams, if you can get into the final stage where there are six teams left, I think we have a strong chance of going through.

Can you talk about what it means to you to play for Canada?
Every young kid strives to play for his country, no matter where they're from. People in Canada love to see their own athletes do well, and as you get older, you seem to realize that more, how much it is important to people to see their teams doing well. It's one of the highest honours one can achieve in their sport, to play and represent their country.

You played eight seasons in Germany for Werder Bremen before joining Tottenham two years ago. What are the differences between the Bundesliga and the Premiership?
The Premiership is a more competitive league. There's a lot more money in England, so the lower teams have more money to spend on foreign players. Most of the players in Europe want to go to England, because they think it's the best league and because they pay the most money.

It's a very competitive league with the best players in the world. The clubs have the money to bring in the top foreign stars from around the world.