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Can cold slow down Mexicans?
Bobby Lenarduzzi will start three players for Canada today with the combined total of 13. And one of them has zero.
Further analysis of today's World Cup qualifying game between the No. 9-ranked team in the world and the 59th ranked Canadians is probably not necessary.
Can possible below-zero weather for the game at Commonwealth Stadium even that up?
There should be 21 players on the field shivering because of the cold and one, Canada's Jason Bent, shaking for another reason. He just turned 20. And he's going to debut today as a starter at midfield against one of the greatest teams in the world, marking 81-capped Mexican Luis R. Albez `Zague', who has scored 31 international goals in his career.
Bent is not the youngest player ever to be put in such a position for Canada. That was Lenarduzzi himself, back in 1973 when he was 17. But his first game was against Poland in a friendly.
And Paul Dolan, the youngest goalkeeper ever to play in a World Cup at 20, won his first cap for Canada when he was 18 in 1984 before his Mexico '86 Cup start against France. But that cap was against Cyprus.
FRESH AIR
"He's been a breath of fresh air,'' said Lendarduzzi of Bent, after Canada's final practice yesterday in the decidedly fresh air in minus-2 Celsius temperatures yesterday. "He's further ahead than I was when I played my first game,'' said the much-maligned Canadian coach. "Then again, he's three years older.
"Jason is very, very in control, unfazed and ready to go. Jason is definitely unique. He came in here like he's been here all the time.''
The Canadian coach, criticized for his everybody-back, kill-the-game coaching style, put together a starting lineup that says that's exactly what he's going to do today. Forward Alex Bunbury will work alone in another time zone again. And Lenarduzzi isn't apologizing.
"For us to throw everything forward from the beginning would be to play right into Mexico's hands,'' he says.
Canada never goes into a game with Mexico with confidence. But the coach knows he has a shattered squad to deal with to start this one.
"Confidence is a factor,'' he says.
"We're fragile. We're low, let's face it.
"I wouldn't be telling the truth if I said everybody is confident and ready to go.''
The idea is to play with Mexico as long as they can, and hope that after 10 or 20 or 30 minutes they'll look up and say, `Hey, we're playing with Mexico' and go from there.
"As the game goes, we'll start to press forward.''
You can expect Eddy Berdusco to be substituted by the 69th minute. That's the lucky minute for the player who scored the goal in Canada's 1-1 tie with Brazil, and broke the four-game shutout streak by scoring to give Canada a 1-0 win over Costa Rica here in June. Both goals came in that 69th minute.
Lenarduzzi says the weather definitely gives Canada some hope. "But weather is not going to win the game for us.''
The one thing this team can hang a hat on is Canada's record in Commonwealth Stadium and that 1-1 tie with Brazil.
Canada is 6-1-1 in Commonwealth.
There won't be 51,936 fans like on that day when Canada beat Brazil. As of yesterday 11,106 tickets had been sold, about a quarter of them to Mexican fans.
But it's still Commonwealth.
"The pitch is in as good condition as any time I've been here,'' says Colin Miller.
The veteran defender says the team has to approach this as a game against one of the top 10 teams in the world more than a World Cup qualifier at this point.
"If you're not up to the test, don't put the jersey on,'' he says.
"The critics have been slagging this team, and rightfully so. It's clear in everyone's mind that we haven't played well, not just at this level but even to be on the national team.''
HOME SWEET HOME
Except here. They played well here against Costa Rica for their only win. And they've always played well here.
"The people in Edmonton haven't let us down yet,'' says the Scottish Premier League player. "They're coming to see a world class team in Mexico. We got a draw against Brazil here. We can get a result against Mexico.''
Bunbury says it starts 0-0.
"I don't think Mexico is unbeatable. We have to give them the utmost respect. But I don't think they're unbeatable here.
"We have a pretty good history of playing well for the people here. The people here are very patriotic for us. There's just something special here, the way they treat us when we're around town, that seems to bring the best out of us when we get to game day in this stadium.''
It's not a lot to hold on to. But it's something.
NEXT ROUNDS: Round of 16 || Quarter-finals || Semi-finals
GROUP A: Brazil, Morocco, Norway, Scotland
GROUP B: Austria, Cameroon, Chile, Italy
GROUP C: Denmark, France, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
GROUP D: Bulgaria, Nigeria, Paraguay, Spain
GROUP E: Belgium, Holland, Mexico, South Korea
GROUP F: Germany, Iran, United States, Yugoslavia
GROUP G: Colombia, England, Romania, Tunisia
GROUP H: Argentina, Croatia, Jamaica, Japan