The next five days will be one of the most crucial periods in the history of the Canadian men’s soccer team.

With two important World Cup qualifying games on the horizon, including Friday’s contest against Cuba in Toronto, Canada can take a giant step towards qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Friday programming alert: Watch Canada vs. Cuba in World Cup qualifying action live on Sportsnet ONE. Live coverage begins at 7 pm ET/4 pm PT

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Earning a combined four points from the Cuba match and next Tuesday’s contest in Honduras would likely be more than enough to send Canada through to “the Hex,” the final round of CONCACAF qualifying where the best three countries in the six-team, round-robin group advance to the World Cup.

Canada last qualified for the Hex in 1998, so to even be in this position is a very big deal for a country whose lone World Cup appearance came in 1986. The Hex still means there’s a long way to go for Canada, but getting to the final round on the CONACAF qualifiers would give the long-suffering men’s team a major shot in the arm and genuine hope for the future.

And yet, even though he conceded this was the biggest moment of his professional career, Canadian coach Stephen Hart cut an incredibly relaxed and jovial figure during the team’s final training session ahead of the showdown with the Cubans.

If he’s at all nervous, he’s hiding it very well.

“You know what? Any time I wake up and there’s a game and I have players to work with, it’s like Christmas for me,” Hart said while sporting a broad grin and his eyes as bright as lights on a Christmas tree.

“I really enjoy working with the players and having a game to work towards, and a game that really means something. You can’t ask for more as a coach.”

Canada currently sits third in Group C with seven points. Panama is first (nine points), followed by Honduras (seven). With the group so tight, Canada needs to earn a win over Cuba to have a realistic shot at the Hex. Panama hosts Honduras on Friday night.

Even though there’s still some work to do, midfielder Will Johnson likes the position the team is in.

“We’re four games in, and we’ve got a very good chance. Everything is in our own hands to get through to the next round,” Johnson stated. “If you would have offered that to us before this whole thing started we would have taken it. So here we are and we’re in a good spot.”

It’s far from a sure thing, though.

Historically, one of Canada’s biggest problems in international play has been scoring, and that’s certainly the case this time around. The Reds have just two goals through their first four games of the current qualifying round. They’re also without all-time leading scorer Dwayne De Rosario, who is sidelined with a long-term knee injury.

Goal difference is the first tiebreaker, and with Honduras at plus-two compared to zero for Canada, the Reds desperately need to score some goals against the Cubans as an insurance policy.

If ever there was a time for Canada to overcome its tendency to squander scoring chances and be more clinical in front of the opposition’s net, this is it.

And yet, Hart maintains he’s not overly concerned with how the team has looked going forward in this qualification round.

“You always want to score more goals but if you look at how we’ve played defensively, behind the ball, how we’ve counter-attacked, some of the chances we’ve created, you can’t really ask for more except for the finishing aspects of our game,” he said.

On paper, Friday’s game is a bit of a mis-match. The Cubans have lost all four of their games this round (and have been outscored 6-0) and have already been eliminated from World Cup contention.

But Canada struggled to beat the Cubans 1-0 in Havana back in June, and Cuba should have taken points in their previous games against Panama and Honduras.

“I think they have not been given credit for the games they’ve played. They’ve played some excellent games,” Hart stated.

Hart has warned his players to stay focused on Cuba and not look ahead to Honduras. The message has sunk in according to Johnson.

“We’re professionals and we know what to do. If we want to get to the World Cup these are the kind of games that you have to win, no matter what’s ahead or where we’ve been,” Johnson stated.

“The experience and professionalism in the squad has to come through and you have to win games like this at home, otherwise we have no chance of accomplishing our goals.”

Canada is now only days away from playing their next World Cup qualifying match against Cuba.

With the Reds sitting third in Group C behind Panama and Honduras, anything less than three points against the Cubans would put a serious dent in Canada’s chances of moving on to "The Hex", the final round of World Cup qualifying in the CONCACAF region.

Friday programming alert: Watch Canada vs. Cuba in World Cup qualifying action live on Sportsnet ONE. Live coverage begins at 7 pm ET/4 pm PT

Sportsnet World Online: Now you can watch all the best international soccer from wherever you are live on your computer. Sportsnet World Online is a new online only service that you can susbcribe to, and there are many different subscription options. For more details and to subscribe, CLICK HERE

The Canadian roster is comprised mostly of players playing at the highest levels in England, Germany and North America, and on paper the fixture against a Cuban side that has yet to earn a single point in the current qualifying round looks like a mismatch.

However, no match is a formality for a Canadian team that has often struggled to find a winning formula in the CONCACAF region while having to deal with hostile opposition stadiums, extreme heat and humidity, poor playing surfaces and suspect refereeing.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the five things that Canada must absolutely avoid against Cuba on Oct. 12th at BMO Field in Toronto.

Looking ahead to Honduras

Most observers have already concluded that Panama will be one of the two teams from Group C to move on to the final round. So Canada’s final match in Honduras on Oct. 16 is considered to be the one that will determine which country will earn the second berth. Canadian coach Stephen Hart has already softly admonished members of the Canadian media for putting a premature emphasis on the Honduras fixture and has stated that his side’s only focus is on Cuba.

That said, it is hard to fight human nature, so it is not really a stretch to suspect that the final game against the Hondurans is on the minds of the Canadian players, especially given how the team’s last trip to Central America played out. Thus, the danger is there and anything less a full focus on Cuba has to be a genuine concern.

Underestimating Cuba

Yes, Cuba is last in the group and has lost all four of its matches. That said, the team has looked very competitive in all of their games and they were unlucky not to get something from two close matches on the road against Panama and Honduras. Furthermore, Hart has been quick to point out that the Cuban team has actually looked more dangerous when they play away from home.

The Canadian players should also be reminded that they only beat this Cuban squad 1-0 in June in what was a very close encounter in Havana. Lastly, teams often play looser and more effectively when nothing is on the line and they are simply playing for pride.

Getting outnumbered at the back in the push to score

So much has been written about Canada’s inability to score goals that it is easy to forget what has put them in a position to move on to the next round: a strong team defence and patient build-up play. With this in mind, it is vital that Canada does not leave the back door open. Cuba is far from an offensive juggernaut and to date has only looked particularly dangerous on the counter attack.

Yes, another draw at home won’t be acceptable from Canada’s standpoint, but the team must still find a way to engineer a winner without deviating too far from what has been a pretty successful tactical recipe so far. Furthermore, allowing an opening goal to Cuba would be a disastrous occurrence that would really ratchet up the pressure on Canada.

Waiting too long to build a lead

While Canada must be patient in their approach against Cuba, they also can’t be too patient, if that makes in any sense in the context of what I have written in the point above. The fact of the matter is that the longer Friday’s match goes on without Canada taking a lead, the greater the pressure will be on an already beleaguered group of Canadian forwards.

While a goal at any time in the match will certainly be welcomed with jubilation, knocking one past the Cuban ‘keeper some time before half-time would be a best case scenario. In an instance such as that, all of the Canadian attackers would likely be able to "grip the bat a little bit less tightly" towards finding an insurance goal or two in the second half.

Avoid picking up yellow cards

It will also be vital that a number of Canada’s core players do not pick up a yellow card against Cuba. Ante Jazic, Kevin McKenna, Olivier Occean and Simeon Jackson are all in danger of being suspended for the match against Honduras should they be cautioned against the Cubans. Will Johnson was suspended for yellow card accumulation in Canada’s most recent 2-0 loss to Panama and the Real Salt Lake midfielder’s strong two-way play was greatly missed.

McKenna is Canada’s captain, its most experienced player and the team’s most indispensable defender, while the veteran savvy that Jazic brings to the table has played a big part in the Canadian team earning three clean sheets in four qualifying matches.

Furthermore, with Canada looking quite thin at the attacking positions, it is absolutely fundamental to Canada’s chances of progressing to the Hex that both Occean and Jackson are available for selection against Honduras.

While Canada is certainly going to need a Herculean effort to get the result they need in the pressure cooker that is Honduras, achieving that result without any of the aforementioned players will be even more of an uphill battle. If Canada can score a goal or two early against Cuba, expect to see Hart almost immediately substitute players out of the game with an eye towards avoiding any suspensions.

Steve Bottjer is a Toronto-based writer, podcaster and editor for RedNation Online, on online magazine covering all aspects of Canadian soccer. Follow RedNation Online on Twitter.