Don’t look now, but Canada is in sole possession of first place in the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying standings. On a frigid night at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, the host side downed Mexico 2-1 to catapult them to the top of the table with 16pts. The US currently sits 1pt behind the Canadians, while Mexico is now 2pts back of the Canucks.
Already on one of the greatest runs in Canadian men’s soccer history, the home side were the aggressors early on against Mexico, who came in as the 9th ranked team internationally. Cyle Larin scored goals at the 45+2 and 52min marks to put his squad up 2-0 over a stunned Mexican side. The goals give him 22 markers for Canada nationally which puts him into a tie with Dwayne De Rosario as the top Canadian Men’s goal scorer in history.
Grounds crews worked furiously before the game to clear the field of snow and repaint lines on a chilly Edmonton evening. Despite a statement earlier in the week from Soccer Canada that over 50,000 tickets had been sold to the game, the announced attendance Tuesday was 44,212 as the cold caused many fans to stay home.
That same cold weather appeared to cause on field tempers to flare as there were more than a few chippy moments from both sides. When all was said and done Mexico was assessed 21 fouls to Canada’s 16, while both benches each received a yellow card in the first half.
Adding to the historic victory, Canadian midfielder Atiba Hutchinson suited up for his 90th cap for team Canada, giving him the all time record for most appearances on the Men’s side. Qualifying will now take a break over the holidays with group play resuming again in January.
Canada is next in action against Honduras on January 27th.