Canada's Tosaint Ricketts, centre, celebrates with Dwayne DeRosario after scoring his team's fourth goal against St. Kitts and Nevis during Round 2 of World Cup qualifying. Canada will next play at Cuba on June 8 before hosting Honduras on June 12 at BMO Field in Toronto. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press)
Canada will play its next round of home World Cup soccer qualifiers at Toronto's BMO Field.
The Canadian Soccer Association made the announcement Thursday at the downtown launch of its new Umbro team uniform.
Canadian men's team head coach Stephen Hart was on hand at the event and said the decision to play in Toronto was heavily influenced by travel, training grounds proximity and grass field conditions at BMO.
"We felt when we looked at everything, the travel, crossing of time zones, we tended to look at the travel issues and then how comfortable we were with the facility," said Hart.
"Knowing the pitch, being familiar with the playing surface, and all those things added up. We felt it would be best to play in Toronto."
The home games for the Canadian men are June 12 against Honduras, Sept. 7 against Panama and Oct. 12 against Cuba.
Canada is preparing for the third round of qualifying play in the CONCACAF regions, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean.
Because of Toronto's multicultural fabric, international games held at BMO Field often produce vocal supporting sections for away teams.
"We knew there would be a risk in terms of crowd support, but we hope the Canadian supporters come out and push us through," said Hart.
Canadian midfielder Julian de Guzman, who plays regularly at BMO with the MLS' Toronto FC, is also confident Canada will receive enough fan support to give the home side a lift.
"I think it's going to be a different experience as to previous years where playing at home you were dominated by the opposing team's fans," said De Guzman.
"But I think that's going to change around, we're celebrating 100 years this year," said the Toronto native, referring to the anniversary of the Canadian Soccer Association. "I think a lot of fans are going to come out and support that cause and at the same time it will follow up with success. They know how important this round is and we're going to bring out a lot of attention."
Canada will also play a friendly against the U.S. at BMO Field on June 3 as part of a celebration of its centennial.
It also marks the first time the North American derby will have taken place on Canadian soil since 1997 when the U.S. visited Burnaby, B.C., for a world cup qualifier.
