San Jose, Costa Rica is a far cry from St. John’s, NL, but the two could be linked forever if Canada defeats the Costa Ricans on Thursday to secure World Cup qualification.

The only other time Canada qualified for men’s soccer was Mexico 1986, beating Honduras in the 1985 CONCACAF Championship final.

At the time, Canadian and Honduran players wondered what they were doing on The Rock, in the modest setting of King George V Park, some 4,900 kilometers northeast of the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa.

“We thought ‘What is the Canadian Soccer Association doing to put on this biggest game Canada has ever played – in Newfoundland?'” said captain Bruce Wilson. “It was an outdoor park, to begin with.

“Before the game we got there and we were training and preparing and saying ‘Where are we?’ And we couldn’t believe it, to be honest.”

But there was method in the madness.

Fellow defender Bob Lenarduzzi credits then-coach Tony Waiters and CSA President Jim Fleming for following other CONCACAF countries in maximizing the benefits of playing at home.

Just getting to St. John’s was a challenge. Some Honduran fans never made it, mistakenly landing in Saint John, New Brunswick, where they had to watch the game on television.

And the locals made the Canadian team feel like royalty.

“From the moment we got there to the moment we won the game and celebrated that night and left the next day, the pride of Newfoundlanders was evident,” Lenarduzzi said.

It is unclear exactly how many people were in King George V Park that afternoon. While Canada Soccer listed the crowd at 7,500 and CBC called it “7,500+, The Canadian Encyclopedia put it at a more robust 13,000.

Whatever the number, they were loud and proud.

Wilson, now 70, said the venue was packed with flag-waving supporters 90 minutes before kick-off.

“It wasn’t a huge crowd at the end of the day, but I’ll tell you when we came out on the field, it was 100% Canadian and they actually put us in front of a goal before the start of the game. match.” Wilson said. “It was a fantastic atmosphere.”

“The other team had no idea where they were,” he added. “And we really thrived.”

Canada entered the game needing a tie or a win to qualify.

“Canada’s oldest city will host its most important soccer game,” CBC’s Steve Armitage sang before kickoff.

“The people and buildings (of Newfoundland) have withstood many Atlantic storms and survived them all,” he added. are taken.”

It was 11 degrees Celsius cloudy at kick-off. The field looked like a jigsaw of grass with a variety of colors and coverage.

George Pakos gave Canada the lead in the 16th minute on a scrappy play from a Carl Valentine corner. Ian Bridge got his head on the ball in acrobatic fashion and it deflected past a defender into the path of an opportunistic Pakos who swept it away with his right foot.

Randy Samuel, 21, came to Canada’s rescue later in the half when Wilson’s attempt to clear the header went over goalkeeper Tino Lettieri’s head and towards the open Canadian goal. But Samuel, who went on to earn 82 caps for Canada, returned in time to clear the ball safely.

Armando Betancourt tied the game in the 49th minute after a Honduran teammate beat two Canadians down the flank and sent the ball into the penalty area. Betancourt, who died last July due to reported COVID complications at the age of 63, shrewdly shielded the ball, pivoted and beat Lettieri with a close-range left-footed shot

“I think hearts started pounding a bit when they equalized,” Lenarduzzi said.

Igor Vrablic sealed the deal in the 61st minute on another Valentine corner. The ball was sent from the near post to Vrablic, who was Johnny on the spot. The 20-year-old got past a defender to swing a leg and redirect the ball from the doorstep.

Fans flocked to the pitch to celebrate at the final whistle.

“A great team effort from Canada and they didn’t sneak out the back door,” CBC commentator Graham Leggat said. “They beat the defending CONCACAF champions 2-1 here in St. John’s… A magnificent performance.

“Now it will be Canada’s turn,” added Armitage. “The moment that football fans across the country have been waiting for for so many years – 28 years.”

“Canadian soccer is finally on the map,” CBC’s Kathryn Wright said while reporting on the historic victory.

It wasn’t the only World Cup qualifier that day. After the historic soccer victory, CBC’s Sportsweekend traveled to the Canadian 10-Pin Bowling Championship in Toronto with berths for another World Cup, this one in South Korea, on the line.

Back in St. John’s, the celebrations lasted long into the night.

“They gave Canadian players a key to the city. They could walk into any restaurant, any establishment and have a meal of anything and it was free,” Wilson said.

“It was amazing… You can imagine after the game that it would have been very late at night and we had an early morning flight. Some of us were getting on the plane straight away,” Lenarduzzi added, today. now 66 years old.

Qualification for the 1986 World Cup comes at a difficult time. The glory years of the North American Soccer League were over, with the league folding in 1984.

Wilson, who had played in the NASL for the Vancouver Whitecaps, Chicago Sting, New York Cosmos and Toronto Blizzard, called the NASL “a huge training ground for the national team.”

The servers offered Wilson, who was without a club, an ambassador-type position for Canadian soccer so he could focus on the national team.

Then 29 with a growing family, Lenarduzzi considered quitting after the NASL shut down. But the Whitecaps star was persuaded to play indoor football in nearby Tacoma.

He remembers playing in Canada’s first qualifying game – a 2-0 win over Haiti – in the afternoon in Victoria, then flying to Tacoma to play – and score – for the Stars indoors that that evening.

Colombia was originally scheduled to host the 1986 World Cup, but pulled out in 1983, due to financial problems and the country’s instability. Canada, Brazil, Mexico and the United States all expressed an interest in returning to hosting duties, but FIFA’s executive committee voted unanimously for Mexico after Brazil dropped out.

Only one World Cup berth was up for grabs in North and Central America and the Caribbean, with host Mexico guaranteeing a spot in the 24-team field.

Seventeen teams started CONCACAF qualification with Guatemala receiving a bye. The remaining 16 teams were paired for knockout matches on a home and away basis, with the winners moving on.

Canada was scheduled to face Jamaica in the home and away qualifying round, but the Jamaicans pulled out.

The nine teams that qualified were split into three pools, with the group winners progressing to the final round

The Canadians won their first round group, posting a 3-0-1 record against Haiti and Guatemala, before facing Honduras and El Salvador in the final round. The Americans failed to advance, finishing one point behind Costa Rica after losing 1-0 to the Central American side in Torrance, Calif., in their final pool game.

Canada opened the final round on August 17, 1985, rallying for a 1-1 draw with Costa Rica at Varsity Stadium in Toronto. He then edged Honduras 1-0 and tied Costa Rica 0-0, both on the road, to set the stage for the September 14 decider in St. John’s.

Canada’s 1986 qualifying road lasted just eight games (5-0-3) instead of the 20 that face John Herdman’s side, currently 13-0-4 in qualifying, including 7-0- 4 in the eight country final round.

“I’m totally impressed,” Wilson said of the current Canadian squad.

“The quality of this team is excellent,” he added. “Where they are sitting right now, they fully deserve it.”

Canada had come close to qualifying for the 1982 World Cup, reaching the six-country CONCACAF final round robin in Honduras after finishing ahead of Mexico and the United States in the three-team North American zone. .

But Canada (1-1-3) finished fourth in the final round, one goal from qualifying after a 2-2 draw with Cuba. Honduras and El Salvador moved on to the World Cup in Spain

Canada’s 1986 World Cup squad built on their experience at the 1984 Olympics where they finished second in their group 1-1-1 behind Yugoslavia before losing to Brazil in the quarter-finals on penalties after the game ended 1-1 before 36,150 at Stanford. Stadium.

Seven of the starters in the game against Brazil, including Wilson and Lenarduzzi, were in the starting XI for the decisive World Cup qualifier. Two other Olympic starters were suspended for the St. John’s game while forward Dale Michell was injured.

“Sometimes people forget the 1984 Olympics,” Wilson said. “But Tony put together a very good, seasoned professional team that played in the North American league for 10 to 11 years and the results we had there were very, very good.”

Canadian men have not qualified for the Olympics since. But they are finally on the verge of returning to the World Cup.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published on March 22, 2022

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press