Canada and Mexico played to a scoreless draw in men’s soccer on Tuesday, but the match was nominally a friendly.
World No. 17 Mexico played a physical game from the start, dominating No. 40 Canada. But despite having far more fouls than scoring chances (43 total to Mexico’s 24), each goalkeeper had to make a highlight-reel save to keep a clean sheet.
American referee Victor Rivas, the 2023 MLS Referee of the Year, has been busy. He has issued seven yellow cards, four to Mexico and three to Canada. And he could have issued more.
“Having a team like Mexico in this game is a compliment to the progress we’ve made as a team, and that’s their strategy,” Canada coach Jesse Marsh said.
Canada beat the 16th-ranked United States 2-1 in Kansas City, their first win over the Americans on American soil since 1957.
“Overall, we think we’ve made another huge step forward in development,” Marsch said.
WATCH | Canada, Mexico settle for scoreless draw in physical friendly:
Canada and Mexico played to a scoreless draw in an international friendly in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday.
Not many people showed up for Tuesday’s boring event, with an estimated 32,623 people in attendance at the 80,000-seat AT&T Stadium, home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.
Mexico outshot Canada 10-5 (3-1 on target) and had 52% possession, but Mexico failed to get the ball up the pitch while Canada tried to throw it, opting for a blunt approach to attacking the long ball for most of the game.
Anger flared in the 18th minute when Bournemouth defender Julian Araujo was shown a yellow card for a studs-up tackle on Canada captain Alphonso Davies. Cesar Huerta followed Araujo with a yellow card in the 26th minute.
Mexico had 13 fouls in the first half, while Canada had six. Both teams had three shots on goal, one of which was on target in the first 45 minutes.
The first chance for either team came in the 43rd minute when Mexican goalkeeper Luis Malagón made a superb one-handed diving save to deny Cyclarin’s header from Ali Ahmed’s cross. Seconds later, Canadian goalkeeper Dane St. Clair had no trouble dealing with a looping shot, Mexico’s first goal.
Canada had 57 per cent possession in the first half and showed considerable restraint against Mexico’s attacks.
WATCH | Canada wins long-awaited victory over Americans on U.S. soil:
Jonathan David scored as Canada beat England 2-1 in an international friendly in Kansas City.
Mexico will resume under Javier Aguirre after Jaime Lozanowas was sacked following an early exit from the Copa America. The 65-year-old Aguirre began his third stint in charge of Mexico with a 3-0 win over 94th-ranked New Zealand at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Saturday.
Aguirre was a loud and disgruntled presence on the sidelines on Tuesday. He changed his outfit at halftime, shedding his suit jacket for a tracksuit in the first half.
The Mexican coach was booked for his persistent complaints in the 56th minute. Choiniere was shown a yellow card for bringing down a Mexican player, and Jonathan David replaced him shortly afterwards.
St. Clair made a great save in the 72nd minute, sending Roberto Alvarado’s shot over the crossbar. Mexico came on in the second half and Davis made a great block.
Sigurd, Canadian debut
Niko Sigur, 21, from Burnaby, British Columbia, made his debut for his country in the 77th minute. Sigur, who is of Croatian parents, played for Croatia’s youth national team before changing his citizenship to Canada.
He received his first booking for Canada 11 minutes later.
#CanadaRedChecking in for the first time, Niko Sigur! #CANMNT #CANMEX pic.twitter.com/nhdrw9tiM8
Also making the cut were substitutes Thani Oluwaseyi, Kamal Miller, Jason Russellow and Stephen Afrifa, all of whom were selected to represent Canada on a second international basis.
Canada and Mexico last met in a World Cup qualifier in November 2021. The match was held at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, a stadium named “Iseteca”, modeled after Mexico City’s historic Estadio Azteca.
The 2-1 win put Canada ahead in the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.
Marsh made four changes to his starting XI, with St Clair, Laryea, Jonathan Osorio and Liam Miller replacing Maxime Crepe, Alistair Johnstone, Jacob Schaffelberg and David.
Johnston (Celtic, Scotland) and Joel Waterman (CF Montreal) returned to their respective clubs as a precautionary measure. Schaffelberg returned to Nashville to have his child.
Canada’s starting players have worn a combined 356 caps before the game, with Jonathan Osorio (79) and Larin (74) accounting for 153 of them.
The Canadian men’s national team will play a friendly against No. 35 Panama at BMO Field in Toronto on Oct. 15.
Canada entered Tuesday’s game with a record of 2-3-4. Those were their first wins against top-tier opponents since Marsch took over in May. One of those came in a penalty shootout loss to 11th-ranked Uruguay in the Copa America third-place playoff, and the other came in a penalty shootout win over 37th-ranked Venezuela in the Copa quarterfinals.
