Canada's hopes of advancing in World Cup soccer qualifying will most likely come down to a crucial showdown Oct. 16 in Honduras.
But Canadian team coach Stephen Hart isn't looking that far ahead, saying his squad's focus is firmly on its Oct. 12 game against winless Cuba (0-40) at BMO Field in Toronto.
"It's a very dangerous thing to play a game before it arrives," Hart said during a conference call Thursday. "They [Cubans] are a proud people and a proud team and they're not going to lie down for anybody.
"Cuba plays much different away from home than they do at home. Having watched the games against Panama and Honduras [both 1-0 losses] they played two exceptional games away from home and should've got a result."
Canada (2-1-1) is tied with Honduras at seven points in Group C, but is third in the group due to Hounduras's superior goal differential. Each team has two games remaining, with the Hondurans facing first-place Panama (3-1-0) on Oct. 12. The Canadians earned a 1-0 win in Cuba on June 8 and must finish in the top two to move on to the final stage.
"I'd say we need four points [win, tie from final two games to advance]," Hart said.
Canada will finish the second qualifying round without its leading goalscorer. Dwayne De Rosario suffered an MCL sprain in his knee in last month's 2-0 loss in Panama.
His injury is yet another blow to the Canadian team, which lost the services of midfielder Josh Simpson (broken leg) of Victoria before this qualifying round began.
Hart unveiled his roster Thursday and will look to Iain Hume, a 28-year-old with 36 national team appearances to replace De Rosario's offensive contributions in the lineup.
