World Cup 2010 Qualifying - Canada vs. Jamaica

I have this quotation flipping around in my head that is something like “Hope springs eternal”. It was long ago, that hope among Canadian soccer (hereafter known as football) enthusiasts was as high as it is now, in lead up to 2010 World Cup qualifying (WCQ).

Tonight, at BMO Field in Toronto, begins the third leg of four in the CONCACAF road to South Africa 2010. Jamaica will take to the artificial pitch in Toronto to face the Canadian Men’s National Team (MNT) and, what is hoped to be, a pro-Canadian home crowd.

The so-called Golden Generation of Canadian football is now. It has been a long time since Canada has known a team with such strength at all positions - most especially in the midfield - and tactics other than dump-and-chase.

The Voyageurs fan club, among others, has made sure that tonight will be a home field match. There should be a spectacular atmosphere at the match and I can only hope that the players respond in kind. The Voyageurs song book, with such hits as Dwayne De Rosario (to the tune of Pet Shop Boys Go West) or Radzinski (to the tune of Boney M’s Rasputin), will get a good workout from the Voyageur faithful.

Hope and Faith was not just some crummy American sitcom featuring Kelly Ripa, it is becoming the unofficial themes of Canadian football fans. They will sing at the top of their lungs and cheer for their boys because they are full of hope and believe that Canada can reach a World Cup again. We’ve been trusting in this faith and hope every four years when WCQ comes around.

A win in game 1 versus Jamaica will be step one. Otherwise, hope that springs eternal may be replaced by "hope burps ephemeral" or "pessimism whiplashes like a car crash". (I'll work on making that sound more eloquent, should need arise.)

HOPE COUNTER: 9x

For more on the match up, I refer thy faithful to the following:

• CBC
• Sportsnet's Gerry Dobson
• National Post: Home crowd should give Canada a boost
• Canadian Soccer Association - although this link features this disturbing quote from head coach Dale Mitchell:
  

"I think it is coming together," said Mitchell of his preparations. "It is strange week because it is a short week. Guys are traveling different places and in different states of physical condition. That is a little bit of a concern, but we have done our best to get as well organized as we can. We have the better part of a day and a half now to further rest up and to get to as close to 100% as we can be."

SWEDEN: Since this blog is known as Scouting Sweden, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that also tonight the Swedish Men’s team takes on France in a friendly match at Ullevi in Gothenburg. World Cup Qualifying for Sweden and UEFA Group 1 begins in early September against Albania and Hungary.