Photo by Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
Canada's last hopes of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia have ended.Although the Canadian men's national soccer team defeated El Salvador 3-1 on Tuesday, it was not enough as Honduras edged one-point ahead of Canada with a 0-0 tie versus Mexico, ending Canada's hopes with a third-place finish in Group A of CONCACAF qualifying.A lot would have needed to happen for Canada to pass Honduras for second in Group A, including a Honduras loss and a sizable Canadian victory, but according to the El Salvador team, a certain businessman was doing everything possible to ensure that wouldn't happen.The El Salvador team claims that a businessman bribed them with financial incentives to win, draw, or avoid a sizable defeat in order to achieve a favourable result for the Hondurans. Essentially, this meant El Salvador staying in the game with Canada so the goal differential would not swing enough in Canada's favour had Honduras lost to Mexico in its final game.The El Salvadorian players made it clear ahead of the game that they were against any kind of match-fixing, coming after 14 El Salvador players were banned from the sport for life in 2013 for similar actions, and it showed during the intense match.The last time Canada qualified for the FIFA World Cup was in 1986, when the nation exited after the group stage. For a developed country with a population over 35 million and a fast-growing soccer community, it is shocking how poorly the Canadian men have fared in international competition, leading to speculation of manager Benito Floro's departure.Canadians must now set their sights to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. If Canada can finally qualify, it will spell an end to a 36-year World Cup drought.