Canadian men's soccer squad focused on Sunday's match with World Cup qualification in their sights

Sometimes it’s about the journey, not the destination.

Such is the case with Canada’s 1-0 defeat in Costa Rica on Thursday night, a result that temporarily put its hopes of qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup on hold, and provided a valuable lesson for coach John Herdman’s side.

The loss was the Canadians’ first in this final round of the CONCACAF qualifiers, snapping a six-game winning streak and ending a 11-match unbeaten run. They were also undefeated in their previous 17 qualifying contests since their campaign kicked off in earnest last March.

It had been pretty smooth sailing for Canada thus