Posted by

Harjeet Johal ,

November 11, 2015 Twitter

@HarJournalist

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VANCOUVER, B.C - It's been a long wait for Canadian Soccer fans who have had to standby and hope that Junior Hoilett would one day represent his birth country of Canada at the international level. Hoilett is in camp as Canada gets set to play Honduras on Friday, November 13 in World Cup qualifying.



The 25 year-old was born in Brampton, Ontario and while he is Canadian, his father was born in Jamaica. To make matters more complicated, Hoilett at one point expressed interest in playing for England. Hoilett ended the international tug of war by accepting a call up from Canada on September 30. His 1st cap came on October 13 in a 1-1 draw against Ghana in Washington D.C. - He played 87' minutes.



The big motivating factor for his commitment to Canada is a possible berth at the 2018 Russia World Cup.



"I just thought the timing was right, now with this new World Cup campaign with a chance to play for the nation. I think the timing was good to get involved with this World Cup campaign and push for Russia."



The Queens Park Ranger winger is going to have to acclimate himself to the interesting and head scratching decisions made during CONCACAF matches. What appears to be black and white isn't always the case. CONCACAF is a bit of a no holds barred anything kind of goes federation. Hoilett's former QPR teammate Joey Barton, would most certainly relish playing in a CONCACAF match.



"Well it's a new experience for me as well because I haven't played on the international platform yet. I played one friendly against Ghana and I've done well. I fit right in with the team and we have a good bunch of players here. Everybody works hard for each other and we want to have a good World Cup campaign."





Many long-suffering Canadian supporters would love to see Junior Hoilett start off Canada's 4th round of World Cup qualifying with a bucket of goals vs Honduras. There are high expectations placed on Hoilett, but he doesn't think he's come in riding on a horse as a saviour who needs to win the fans over.



"I've just got to go and play my game, I don't think I'm anybody's saviour. We have a good squad here, like I said, and everybody has a right goal to play for each other. We have to go out there work hard, and finish and everything will follow."



The 102 ranked Canadians need to start off with a result against Honduras on Friday, and away to El Salvador on Tuesday, November 17. Hoilett wants to see Canada take the opportunities they create for themselves. Getting a victory would be massive, and it all starts with something so very simple.



"I think we just have to stick to the game plan, work hard for each other and just finalize on every opportunity that we have."



The cool and crisp Canadian weather could be a bit of a boost for the home-side as the Honduras team is not familiar with cold weather. Honduras has been practicing in warm and sunny Houston, Texas. Canada Soccer would like to see the roof open at BC Place, but that isn't set in stone as the forecast calls for rain.



As long as Canada picks up three points vs Honduras it won't matter what the weather is or how many goals Junior Hoilett scores. Winning cures everything and that's exactly what Canada needs right now.



