Men’s soccer keep proving they are a team to watch
By Olivia Lawrence
RP Show Intern
It was a cold, winter wonderland, at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton on Tuesday night (Nov. 16) for Canada’s Men’s soccer FIFA World Cup Qualifier game against Mexico. Canadian’s however, are known for thriving in the cold, and the men did just that, beating Mexico 2-1 in the last qualifier of the year in the CONCACAF tournament.
This puts Canada first and undefeated in their regional standings—three wins, zero losses, and four draws. The United States trails behind them by one point, and Mexico and Panama are sitting third and fourth—two points behind Canada.
“The neat thing for me, when I look at it, is they reward wins,” said Darren Dupont on Wednesday’s episode of the Rod Pedersen Show. “Draws are so common, right? I think it’s one point for a draw and three points for a win. They really reward wins. And that’s how Canada has been able to get to number one, because they have zero losses. Zero. It’s incredible. They haven’t lost a game and they’ve been able to win. They haven’t just been going through with draws every game, so that’s cool.”
Canada has not beat Mexico in a World Cup qualifier since 1976! The star of the game was without a doubt Cyle Larin, he scored both of Canada’s goals. Larin also found the best Canadian way to celebrate—jumping into a snowbank. The snowy conditions at Commonwealth earned the stadium the nickname “Iceteca” on social media. The name was inspired by the Mexican team, their home field in Mexico City is called Estadio Azteca.
“Iceteca, that’s cool,” said Rod Pedersen. “But I’m trying to find a quote from the Mexican coach because John Herdman, Canada’s coach, we’re hearing everything he’s got to say, but I want to know what the Mexican coach had to say. It would be like ‘GET US THE HELL OUT OF HERE!’ After they thawed him out.”
The Canadians did exactly what they needed to do for both their scheduled games in Edmonton, they also won against Costa Rica 1-0 on Friday Night (Nov. 12). The excitement for soccer is intense in Canada right now, 50,000 people packed the stadium for each game! There should be excitement, Canadians have not made a World Cup since 1986!
The qualifying tournament is now paused for the remainder of the year, but will resume in January with six games left. The tournament ends in March, the top three teams will automatically earn a spot. The fourth-place team will take part in an intercontinental playoff to earn one of the final spots in the World Cup. The World Cup is scheduled for Nov. 21- December 18, 2022 in Qatar.
