Based on the never-ending — but many times deserved — wisecracks at Canada’s men’s national team, you’d think Les Rouges were perennial underdogs, that the Canadians are simply punching bags for CONCACAF’s top teams.

The Hondurans, after all, have qualified for consecutive World Cups. They collected a point at South Africa 2010.

With so much negativity around this Canadian team ahead of Friday night’s World Cup qualifier against Los Catrachos, it’s a bit shocking to see odds-makers are tipping the embattled hosts to win inside Vancouver’s BC Place, where more than 20,000 fans are expected.

“It probably has more to do with Honduras not getting results of late and people looking at past results leading up to this game,” Veteran Canadian midfielder Will Johnson told the Toronto Sun on Thursday night. “But you and I both know that whatever Vegas says, during these games every four years people perform differently than they did in the lead-up. Some people rise to the pressure and some crumble.”

LARSON: Upcoming qualifiers another chance to shatter stigma

Most crumble, actually. Nobody needs reminding of Canada’s previous failures.

And let’s not forget Mexico needed an inter-continental playoff to reach Brazil after finishing behind Honduras last cycle.

That’s the beauty of it. Everyone’s alive.

And, like Vegas, the Canadians know playing at home is a huge advantage in this part of the world.

They’ll head to El Salvador on Sunday following Friday night’s game. After that, it’s back-to-back games against Mexico in March followed by the reverse of the fixtures being playing this month. The top two teams advance to the confederation’s final round.

“You tend to look at things over the six games, but based upon this new group of guys I think we have the capability to get points on the road,” Johnson said. “You always want to get off to a good start. It’s always easier to play from ahead in these positions.

“There’s no doubt we’re aware of the magnitude (of these two games).”

They’re fixtures that could define head coach Benito Floro’s tenure.

The Spanish bench boss has been scrutinized for both results and player selection. His time at the helm has been unconvincing.

The rebuttal from Floro, meanwhile, has remained the same: Respect the process.

More than two years after accepting the job, there’s no more time for patience. It’s judgment day.

“I don’t think it was an easy job,” Johnson said of his embattled coach. “There was a clear end of a generation of Canadian players that had to exit the program when he took over (in 2013). He had to start from scratch.”

A new system, a new mentality. Expect the Canadians to be, if anything, much more stingy than they were in the previous cycle.

“Everybody believes. Everybody has bought in,” Johnson said of Floro’s vision. “There’s a lot more structure to the formation and tactical awareness than we’ve had before. I think you see that in the discipline defensive performances against good teams.”

At a certain point Friday Canada will need to throw caution to the wind.

It’s going to get chances in front of home support. If they don’t convert, this thing could be over before it really begins.

A draw to kick things off — especially with an away date in El Salvador looming — might not be good enough.

It would make the match in El Salvador next Tuesday a must-win.

“They’re athletic, they’ve bought in, they’re passionate, I think they’re more athletic than Mexico,” Johnson said of Honduras. “They play physical. They’re not quite as bad as the Mexicans in terms of gamesmanship but they are very clever and want you to bite on some of their antics. We’ve got to rise above that and worry about our own game.”

There’s not much left to discuss. The Canadian men’s team has been beaten down to the point it has nowhere to go but up. And three years of healing should be enough.

The old guard — Dwayne De Rosario, Kevin McKenna, Mike Klukowski — are gone, replaced by a younger generation of players whose mettle is about to be tested in ways it never has.

“It’s time to play, man,” Johnson said. “It’s time to let these young kids get an opportunity to play World Cup qualifiers for real."