Two days on and the sting of seeing Canada fail to score has been blunted by the joy of seeing the Red and White fail to concede.

Undefeated in eight World Cup qualifying games and scorers of nineteen goals with just one allowed. Taken at face value that’s not a bad little run Canada is on. That St. Kitts and Nevis was the competition in two of those games might dull the excitement a bit, but the results are still decent.

Over the last four World Cup cycles decent form was something Canada couldn’t find with a map, detailed instructions, binoculars and a police escort. So, ‘decent’ needs to be celebrated – or, at least accepted – by Canadian fans.

At the one-third way mark of the semi-final stage, Canada is in position to advance to the hexagonal for the first time since Teal Bunbury’s dad caught fire in the run to France 98. At that time, the Canucks advanced from a semi-final group that included both Cuba and Panama, which may interest those who believe in meaning in coincidences.

So, all is not lost. You might not realize that if you were to visit certain fan Websites where hysteria is the expected M.O. The terrified Canadian fan comes by his or her cynicism naturally. Canada has given him plenty of reasons to fret over the years.

And many of those reasons were on display in the first two games of the semi-final round. The most notable being the classic Canadian trait of needing that map, detailed instructions, binoculars and a police escort to find the net. With just one goal in the first two games (and one in three if you include the friendly with the USA) it appears that the Canadians will need to gut out more 0-0s and 1-0s the rest of the way.

If they are to be successful, they will need the strong play of Kevin McKenna and Andre Hainault to continue. The two men were key to both matches and a los of either might spell doom for Canada’s chances. McKenna in particular demonstrated a calm on the ball that few Canadian defenders have ever displayed—being at the wrong end of the Bundesliga table apparently teaches one how to defend well. It says here there is no player more important to Canada’s chances than McKenna.

Up front they need to find something. Olivier Occéan was game, and with the shift he put in against Honduras you can understand why he’s become such a fan favourite at Greuther Fürth, but he needs help. Simeon Jackson needs to get hot at the right time –Grant Holt’s sudden desire for a bigger club might actually be good news for Canada if Jackson can earn some Premiership minutes at the end of this summer.

However, Canada’s biggest advantage might have been wearing blue and white at BMO Field Tuesday. Although the mainstream opinion heading into this round was that Honduras was the team to beat in the group, more informed observers of CONCACAF weren’t as convinced. Many of those thinkers pegged Panama as the class and suggested that second place was a battle between Canada and Honduras. Los Catrachos were thought to have the edge there.

Two games in, and that thinking has likely reversed. Beyond the three point advantage—and that’s not insignificant—Honduras just doesn’t look that strong. The scoreless draw against Canada was the fourth straight game the Central Americans have gone without scoring. Unlike Canada, the back-line hasn’t been tight during the scoring struggles, allowing six goals in that stretch.

Honduras hasn’t won a soccer game in 2012, a 1-1 draw with Costa Rica the only other result in six games.

If you were a Honduran how confident would you be that they can take six points off Cuba in September’s home and away?

Canadian fans shouldn’t rely on Honduras to fail to book their spot in the Hex—six points earned against Panama would grab the group by its neck—but after 14 years of trying to get back to that relatively mediocre level of success, they’ll take it anyway they can get it.