Canadian men look to return to World Cup, 37 years after historic win in St. John's

San Jose, Costa Rica, is a long way from St. John's, N.L., but the two could be forever intertwined if Canada beats the Costa Ricans on Thursday to secure World Cup qualification.

The only other time Canada made it to the men's soccer showcase was Mexico 1986, thanks to a win over Honduras in the final of the 1985 CONCACAF Championship.

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

"We had thought 'What the heck is the Canadian Soccer Association doing putting this biggest game Canada's ever played — in Newfoundland?'" said captain Bruce Wilson. "It was an outside park, to start with.

"Before the game, we got there and we were training and preparing and were going 'Where are we?' And we couldn't believe it, to be honest."

But there was method to 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, landing mistakenly in Saint John, N.B., where they had to watch the game on TV.

And the locals made the Canadian team feel like kings.

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

Just how many people were in King George V Park that afternoon is unclear. While Canada Soccer listed the crowd at 7,500 and CBC called it "7,500-plus, the Canadian Encyclopedia has it at a more robust 13,000.

Whatever the number, they were loud