Canadian men’s soccer team unfazed heading into Mexico for World Cup qualifier

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This article was published 06/10/2021 (1822 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If all-time records dictated the future, the Canadian men’s national team likely wouldn’t be where it is today.

John Herdman’s men wouldn’t have beaten the United States in a historic victory in October 2019, snapping a 34-year losing streak. The team wouldn’t be tied for second in the standings of CONCACAF’s final round of qualifying for next year’s World Cup, aiming to be one of the top three countries from the region to earn an automatic berth to Qatar 2022.

That’s why a date with Mexico, a longtime powerhouse of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, doesn’t seem to faze the current Canadian squad like it may have in the past.

There’s no doubt Thursday night’s visit to Azteca Stadium in Mexico City — one of the greatest football coliseum’s in the world, in Herdman’s book — is a big match. While the Canadian men’s 5-22-8 record against the Mexicans clearly isn’t favourable, more recent history will have the team raring to upset the country that currently tops the qualification standings.

Herdman and his men will look back at this summer’s Gold Cup semifinal match against Mexico for motivation. On that night in Houston in late July, it took 99 minutes for the Mexicans to find a game-winning goal, against a Canadian lineup that didn’t include the country’s biggest names, like Alphonso Davies, Jonathan David, Milan Borjan and Atiba Hutchinson.

Rocking the Mexican squad, getting into their heads by controlling periods of that match, was a good starting point for Canada, Herdman said last week. But there’s a feeling that Canada left something on the field that night.

“They’re going to go into this with some belief and some confidence that they can compete with, historically, the best team in CONCACAF in their hometown. There’s nothing but an excitement for this game,” Herdman said.

The environment will undoubtedly be a hostile one. Herdman recalled beers flying past his head “every 10 minutes” during the Gold Cup match in Texas, and that wasn’t Mexico’s home turf. But he is encouraging his players to embrace the opportunity to play on one of international soccer’s biggest stages.

“Mentally, it’s about building on that (Gold Cup) performance from us and not taking a backward step from that standpoint,” Herdman said.

Canada last got a result against Mexico in October 2008, a 0-0 tie at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. The two nations will face off at that venue again soon, when the Canadians host both Mexico and Costa Rica during November’s international break. Herdman has to consider both those matches while navigating the current international window. After taking on the Mexicans, the Canadians visit Jamaica on Sunday and host Panama at BMO Field next Wednesday.

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With players such as strikers Cyle Larin and Lucas Cavallini, Hutchinson and Borjan all questionable for the Mexico game, the task only becomes tougher. Herdman will have to be selective about the squads he fields throughout this window, with Steven Vitoria, Mark-Anthony Kaye, Tajon Buchanan, Richie Laryea and Samuel Adekugbe all on yellow cards facing a one-game suspension if they accrue another.

Making sure the team is firing on all cylinders against Panama next week is key to this window for Canada.

But that doesn’t mean the team will roll over against Mexico, Herdman said.

“I think the Gold Cup was a great example of a group of men that, when the odds seemed against them from a squad perspective, it just brought us all closer together.”

Laura Armstrong is a Star sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @lauraarmy