Canada held to draw by dour Mexico in friendly

• Canada 0, Mexico 0 
• Canadians record 1st shutout versus Mexico since 0-0 draw in 2000 World Cup qualifier 
• Sigur earns 1st cap for Canada, becoming 3rd player to debut this international window 

The Canadian men’s team showed up for a soccer game on Tuesday night, but instead took part in a street fight.  

Canada closed out September’s international window with a 0-0 draw against Mexico at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas in a game that was marred by the Mexicans' cynical playing style.   

A drab affair owed a lot to the dour tactics of Mexico, who systematically fouled and blatantly hacked down Canadian players, preventing Les Rouges from getting into any kind of attacking rhythm.  

Rather than try to build out from the back, manager Javier Aguirre had his team just lump the ball forward in vain and focused on frustrating Canada. Forty-three fouls were called by the referee, 24 of which were committed by El Tri, who showed no genuine interest in trying to play football.   

"It's a compliment to the progress that we've made as a team that a team like Mexico comes into this match and that's their strategy," Canada coach Jesse Marsch said.

Marsch made four lineup changes from Saturday's 2-1 win over the United States, drafting in goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, Toronto FC’s Jonathan Osorio and Richie Laryea, and Liam Millar. Making way were Maxime Crépeau, Jonathan David, Jacob Shaffelburg and Alistair Johnston.  

Shaffelburg returned to Nashville in anticipation of his wife giving birth to the couple’s first child, while Johnston went back to Celtic FC with a lower body injury. Midfielder Niko Sigur made his debut for Canada when he was dubbed on in the 77th minute.  

Canada is No. 40 in the current FIFA world rankings, well behind 17-ranked Mexico, who was coming off a 3-0 win over New Zealand on Saturday and was playing its second game under the newly-hired Aguirre (his third spell as national team boss). Aguirre made six lineup changes from the weekend.  

A chippy and physical affair meant neither team asserted itself in the final third and the first shot on target didn’t occur until the 43rd minute. Ali Ahmed delivered a perfect ball deep into the box where Cyle Larin beat out three Mexican players to connect on a dangerous header, only to see goalkeeper Luis Malagón come up with a fabulous one-handed save at the post.  

It was more of the same at the start of the second half with Mexico doubling down on its tactical approach. Still, it did carve out an early scoring chance when Santiago Giménez slipped into the box behind Canada’s defence and forced a save from St. Clair who rushed off his line. 

Looking to give his team more of an attacking edge, Marsch brought on David for midfielder Mathieu Choinière in the 62nd minute. St. Clair denied Roberto Alvarado when he tipped the Mexican’s long-range effort over the crossbar. Alphonso Davies’ half chance late in the game put a scare into Mexico, who managed to hold on for the draw. 

NOTES: Canada sports an all-time record of 5-19-10 all-time against Mexico since 1957... These nations previously met on Nov. 16, 2021, when Canada earned a 2-1 victory over Mexico in a World Cup qualifier on a wintry night at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium... The last time Canada shut out Mexico was in a 0-0 draw in a World Cup qualifier on Nov. 15, 2000 at Toronto’s Varsity Stadium… Canada returns to action when it hosts Panama in another international friendly at Toronto's BMO Field on Oct. 15.

(Top photo courtesy of Canada Soccer)

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