On the outside looking in as the World Cup approaches, the Canadian men's national team will take its first steps in building toward the 2014 tournament via a strong five-match schedule this year.
International friendlies in Argentina, Venezuela and Ukraine, plus two more at home versus Honduras and a still-being-finalized opponent should give new coach Stephen Hart a base on which to keep rebuilding the troubled program.
Hart and Canadian Soccer Association general secretary Peter Montopoli have worked diligently to restore some order to the national team since the meltdown that followed its dismal regional qualifying attempt for the upcoming World Cup.
The coup of landing a match with the flashy Argentines, ranked ninth in the world by FIFA, along with three other teams ranked well above Canada provides the national team with some new cache, both at home and abroad.
"In the past, before my time, the CSA was either criticized for a lack of matches or who they were playing," Montopoli said in an interview following a news conference Friday. "That should not be the case, that's an element we'd like to remove.
"We are playing matches, we are playing significant competition, and I would say the onus then is on the players to say that's something they wish to be a part of, because that's what they've been asking for."
No. 64 Canada opened the year with a 1-0 loss to Jamaica on Jan. 30, and next sees action May 24 at Buenos Aires versus Argentina, which is using the contest as a World Cup warmup.
Five days later the Canadians will face the 48th-ranked Venezuelans at Merida, a match Montopoli feels wouldn't have happened without the Argentina game.
On Sept. 4, Canada will play the unidentified opponent at Toronto's BMO Field, before taking on No. 36 Honduras at Montreal's Stade Saputo on Sept. 7.
The schedule closes out against No. 26 Ukraine on Oct. 10.
"It's important to raise standards," said Hart. "If you're going to raise standards on the national team then you have to play against opposition that is better than you."
The main challenge for Hart will be fielding the players he wants for the games in South America. Neither is on a FIFA day reserved for international action, so club teams are under no obligation to release players.
Right now he's not sure what his squad will look like.
"We took the dates knowing that there will be difficulties but it's 2010, and we're at the stage where we've said we'd like to build a squad," he said. "We'd like to be playing hopefully on every FIFA day in 2011.
"I'm trying to develop a core of players and the only way you can do that is to mix some of the experience with the younger players, or else you're sort of guessing. It will always be a mix."
Hart is likely to build the core of the 2014 World Cup qualifying team around the likes of Julian de Guzman, Dwayne De Rosario, Simeon Jackson and Mike Klukowski. The experience of playing in Argentina, he feels, would be of tremendous benefit.
"You are playing, first, against some of the best players in the world, secondly, potentially, one of the best teams in the world," said Hart. "I will see how players react to a crowd that will be like nothing they've experienced before, I will see how they react to playing away from home, and of course how they match up individually."
The gains Canada can make go well beyond that, however.
There are hopes for a fuller schedule in 2011, leading into the qualifying in 2012, and solid showings will only make it easier for Canada to continue booking dates with strong opposition.
"Our best players, where we are ranked, the ability of the team to compete internationally, that's really the main part of what the countries are looking for," said Montopoli. "They want to know you have a strong, competitive team that is highly ranked and strong within your confederation.
"It's like marketing. The bigger brands all work together, the big companies stay together. It's the same in the football world."
That's a world Montopoli is showing he can navigate well.
He impressed FIFA with the way he ran the 2007 U-20 World Cup hosted by Canada, and will be in charge of the England-U.S. game as event co-ordinator at Rustenberg, one of the World Cup venues.
The experience of being in South Africa while the Canadian team is at home will be bittersweet for him.
"I would say that is good way to describe it," said Montopoli. "Today is a continual step in the right direction. We have our head coach, we're announcing matches, so I believe it's all moving forward."