Canada faces tough path to 2010 World Cup
Last Updated: Sunday, November 25, 2007 | 12:12 PM ET
CBC Sports
Canada faces a tough challenge to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
At Sunday's World Cup draw in the South African city of Durban, Canada (No. 55 in the current FIFA world rankings) was drawn against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (No. 77) in a two-game playoff series next summer with the winner then advancing to a CONCACAF semifinal group that could include Mexico, Honduras and Jamaica.
Team Canada coach Dale Mitchell was part of the Canadian team that qualfied for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
(Getty Images)
The 35 countries in CONCACAF, the ruling confederation that oversees soccer in North and Central America and the Caribbean, were dispersed into 12 groups with the winner of each earning the right to advance to the next round of qualifying where they will be divided into three round-robin groups.
Provided there are no major upsets in the second round, Canada would meet Mexico (No. 15), Honduras (No. 54) — two of the strongest teams in the CONCACAF region — and Jamaica (No. 98) in the semifinal round.
Mexico plays the winner of Belize vs. St. Kitts and Nevis in the second round, Jamaica meets the winner of Bahamas vs. British Virgin Islands, and Honduras will face off against the winner of Dominican Republic vs. Puerto Rico.
"I think we have the most difficult group, if you go by form," Canadian coach Dale Mitchell told The Canadian Press.
The top two countries in each of the semifinal groups advance to a final six-team round robin group from which the first three qualify automatically for the World Cup.
The fourth-placed team will meet the fifth-placed team from the South American qualifiers for a spot in the finals.
Canada has only qualified for the World Cup once, in 1986 in Mexico.
World Cup preliminary draw for CONCACAF:
Group 1A
Dominica vs. Barbados
United States vs. Winner
Group 1B
Turks and Caicos Islands vs. Saint Lucia
Guatemala vs. Winner
Group 1C
Bermuda vs. Cayman Islands
Trinidad and Tobago vs. Winner
Group 1D
Aruba vs. Antigua and Barbuda
Winner vs. Cuba
Group 2A
Belize vs. Saint Kitts and Nevis
Winner vs. Mexico
Group 2B
Bahamas vs. British Virgin Islands
Jamaica vs. Winner
Group 2C
Dominican Republic vs. Puerto Rico
Honduras vs. Winner
Group 2D
Canada vs. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
The winner of Group 2D goes directly into the semifinal round
Group 3A
US Virgin Islands vs. Grenada
Winner vs. Costa Rica
Group 3B
Suriname vs. Montserrat
Winner vs. Guyana
Group 3C
El Salvador vs. Anguilla
Panama vs. Winner
Group 3D
Nicaragua vs. Netherlands Antilles
Haiti vs. Winner
