Canada's mission in this World Cup qualifying window: Just hold on

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Just hold on. That's the objective for the Canadian men's soccer team as it heads into its penultimate window of regional World Cup qualifying matches without its best player.

With eight matches down and six to go in the final round of qualifying in the CONCACAF region, Canada has put itself in great position to reach the world's most popular sporting event for the first time since 1986. The Canadians sit alone atop the eight-team group and have the only unbeaten record. Their four wins include a monumental victory over longtime regional power Mexico in frigid Edmonton back in November. Their four draws include one in each of the two toughest road matches they'll face, at the United States and at Mexico's dreaded Estadio Azteca.

But Canada's perch is far from comfortable. Only the top three teams get a ticket to Qatar, and four are jammed together at the top of the standings. The United States, CONCACAF's highest-ranked team, is lurking just one point behind Canada in second place. Mexico and Panama, who both qualified for the last World Cup, are two points behind Canada. A win is worth three points, a draw is one and a loss is zero. So Canada's fortunes could swing dramatically with a single match.

The fourth-place team will get another shot to qualify via a one-game playoff in June in Qatar vs. the winner of the Oceania region's qualifying tournament. That will most likely be New Zealand, which is currently 70 spots below No. 40 Canada in the world rankings. But a one-game scenario is always fraught. Much better to avoid it by securing your World Cup spot now.

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