Canada and Mexico draw in chippy international men's soccer friendly

Canada and Mexico played to a scoreless draw Tuesday in a men's soccer game that was a friendly in name only.

Mexico, ranked 17th in the world, played a physical game from the start, bundling over the 40th-ranked Canadians at will. But while there were far more fouls (43 in total, with Mexico called for 24) than scoring chances, 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, was kept busy. He handed out seven yellow cards, four to Mexico and three to Canada — and could have shown more. 

"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," said Canada coach Jesse Marsch.

Canada was coming off a 2-1 weekend win over the 16th-ranked U.S. in Kansas City, marking its first victory over the Americans on U.S. soil since 1957.

"Overall I think we've taken another pretty big step forward in our development," said Marsch.

Not many were on hand to see Tuesday's drab affair. Attendance was announced at 32,623 at the 80,000-capacity AT&T Stadium, home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys.

Mexico outshot Canada 10-5 (3-1 in shots on target) and had 52 per cent possession. But while Canada looked to play the ball up the pitch, Mexico — unsuccessfully — opted for the long ball in a blunt instrument approach to attack for much of the game.

Tempers flared in the 18th minute when Bournemouth defender Julian Araujo was yellow-carded after catching Canada captain Alphonso Davies with a studs-up challenge. Cesar Huerta followed Araujo into the book in the 26th minute.

Seconds later Araujo somehow escaped further punishment when he stepped on Mathieu Choiniere's foot.

Mexico was called for 13 fouls in the first half, compared to six for Canada. Both teams had three shots on goal, with one of those on target in the first 45 minutes.

The first chance for either side came in the 43rd minute with Mexican goalkeeper Luis Malagon making an outstanding one-handed diving save to stop a Cyle Larin header off an Ali Ahmed cross. Seconds later Canadian 'keeper Dayne St. Clair had little problem handling a looping Huerta shot, Mexico's first on target.

Canada had 57 per cent possession in the first half — and showed a lot of self-control in the face of Mexican aggression.

The Mexicans are starting over under Javier Aguirre after Jaime Lozanowas fired following an early Copa America exit. The 65-year-old Aguirre kicked off his third stint at Mexico's helm with a 3-0 victory over 94th-ranked New Zealand at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Saturday.

Aguirre was a loud, unhappy presence on the sideline Tuesday. He managed a costume change at halftime, opting for a track suit after shedding his suit jacket in the first half.

The Mexican coach was booked in the 56th minute for his constant complaining. Choiniere was then yellow-carded for felling a Mexican with Jonathan David replacing him soon after.

St. Clair made a big save in the 72nd minute, tipping a Roberto Alvarado shot over the crossbar. Mexico came on in the latter minutes, with Davies making a big block.

Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old from Burnaby, B.C., came on in the 77th minute for his first cap. Sigur, whose parents are of Croatian descent, represented Croatia as a youth international before switching his allegiance to Canada.

He picked up his first booking for Canada 11 minutes later.

Tani Oluwaseyi, Kamal Miller, Jacen Russell-Rowe and Stephen Afrifa, winning his second cap, also came off the bench for Canada.

Canada and Mexico last met in November 2021 in World Cup qualifying play in the chilly confines of Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium dubbed “Iceteca,” in a play on Mexico City's storied Estadio Azteca.

A 2-1 win secured Canada's position atop the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.

While Canada was unbeaten in its two previous outings (1-0-1) against Mexico, it came into Tuesday's contest with a 5-20-9 career record against the longtime CONCACAF powerhouse. The Canadians were 1-7-3 against Mexico since a 2-1 quarterfinal win in February 2000 en route to their famous Gold Cup triumph.

Marsch made four changes to his starting 11 with St. Clair, Laryea, Jonathan Osorio and Liam Millar slotting in for Maxime Crepeau, Alistair Johnston, Jacob Shaffelburg and David.

Both Johnston (Celtic, Scotland) and Joel Waterman (CF Montreal) have returned to their clubs as injury precautions. Shaffelburg went home to Nashville for the birth of his child.

The Canadian starters had a combined 356 caps going into the game with Jonathan Osorio (79) and Larin (74) accounting for 153 of those.

The Canadian men play next at Toronto's BMO Field where they will host No. 35 Panama in an Oct. 15 friendly.

Canada came into Tuesday's game with a 2-3-4 record — albeit against elite opposition, including a pair of 2-0 losses to top-ranked Argentina — since Marsch took the reins in May, with one of those ties turning into a shootout loss to No. 11 Uruguay in the Copa America third-place game and another into a shootout win over No. 37 Venezuela in the Copa quarterfinal.