VAN DIEST: Canada all in against Mexico for World Cup qualification

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The Canadian men’s soccer team had a surprise visit in their training session one day before hosting Mexico in qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in town for a funding announcement, stopped by the Edmonton Soccer Dome on the Edmonton Scottish Society grounds to wish the team luck and received an autographed jersey.

“He’s the gaffer (boss), isn’t he?” Canada’s head coach John Herdman said with a smile on Monday. “I think this is a key moment for our guys. I don’t know how many of our boys are politicians, but when the prime minister changes his agenda and comes to talk to our boys and tells us how important it is that we act tomorrow, it is a big thing.

“He was a big part of bringing (the World Cup) 2026 to this country, and he came here today to tell us that the country believes in us and that we have a great opportunity to beat Mexico and to do what Canadians do, and that is surprise. people.”

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More than 50,000 tickets have been sold for the game, which is expected to be played in freezing temperatures and in snowy conditions. On Monday, a snowstorm hit Edmonton, forcing Canada to hold its training session inside Edmonton’s state-of-the-art soccer facility, which encompasses a full-size field.

A win against Mexico would push Canada to at least second place in the Concacaf standings with the top three teams after the round-trip round-robin series shifts to Qatar. They could move to first place depending on the result between the United States and Jamaica in Kingston that same night.

This will be Canada’s third chance in Mexico in five months, having lost 2-1 in the Gold Cup semifinal in Houston in July, and then tied 1-1 in their first qualifying match at the Estadio Azteca in Ciudad de Mexico in October.

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Canada expects the third time to be the defeat against Mexico, which will enter the game after a 2-0 loss to the United States in Cincinnati on Friday.

Canada defeated Costa Rica 1-0 on Tuesday to more than 48,000 at Commonwealth Stadium on Tuesday, which was the third-largest crowd to see the men’s national team in their own country.

“We hope the building is back on top,” Canada central defender Steven Vitoria said. “There will be 50,000 Canadians, if not more. The last game was fantastic, we really fed off of the last game and we’re all in this together and we’re excited to get started.

“We were happy with the tie in Mexico, but not entirely satisfied, knowing who we were playing against, it is a very strong country. But we are focused on Canada and raising our bar even higher. It is an exciting time and we are looking forward to it. “

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With every match they play, Canada seems to gain in confidence as they seek to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1986.

Canada has one foot in Qatar, as the game against Mexico represents the start of the second half of the series at home and at home with the other seven teams from the region.

“We are very confident in the game, we have had a good start to the campaign (of qualifying for the World Cup),” said fullback Sam Adekugbe. “We believe in our group and we believe in the quality we have and we are looking for the three points again (Tuesday).

“I think we deserve to be considered among its quality, we believe in our staff, we believe in the quality that we have. We are not afraid of anyone, that has been the mentality that we have had when entering this campaign. We trust ourselves, we have trusted our coaching staff and we have a great brotherhood ”.

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The current edition of the men’s team is considered the most talented ever sent. Herdman and his coaching staff have been able to make the most of that talent and navigate a challenging qualifying campaign, which began with two preliminary rounds before reaching the final stage of the Concacaf qualifying.

Canada is competing in the final round of the Concacaf qualifying for the first time in a quarter century and a win against Mexico would put them on the cusp of earning a spot for Qatar with six games to play.

“We approach every game in the same way,” Adekugbe said. “We are going to be aggressive, we believe in our strengths, we are not in the mentality that we want to sit down and absorb the pressure, we want to bring out our qualities on the field and no matter how the coach aligns us on the field is how we are going to do it.”

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True to form, Herdman did not reveal his lineup for Tuesday, but it is expected to be similar to the one used in Mexico City, where Canada terrorized Mexico with their speed down the wings with Alphonso Davies and Tajon Buchanan.

Up front, Jonathan David is in great shape as the top scorer in the final qualifying stage with three goals, while Cyle Larin or recently naturalized forward Ike Ugbo provide solid options up front.

“I think trust has gone against them,” Herdman said. “I think we can take our attack to another level and I hope that Mexico’s game will be more open than Costa Rica’s.

“Playing against Costa Rica in a field like that, it was difficult. But we were prepared to suffer a little to be prepared for this game. We take advantage of that moment to prepare for this moment, which is a great moment for this country ”.