The2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying match between Canada and Mexico was anassociation football match contested by theCanadian andMexican men's national soccer teams during thethird round ofCONCACAF's2022 FIFA World Cup qualification tournament. Canada's victory over Mexico ended Mexico's eleven match unbeaten streak against Canada dating back to August 15, 2000, and put Canada in first place of the qualifying group.[1][2] The temperature at kickoff was recorded as −9°Celsius, making it the coldest match ever played by the Mexico national team.[3]
Canada was scheduled to be the home team for the seventh and eighth fixtures of the qualifying group, and theCanadian Soccer Association chose to host their matches inEdmonton, Alberta, a city renowned for very coldPrairie winters. This strategy was often used by both Canada and theUnited States to create a disadvantage for the Mexican team, as those players would not be used to playing under such frigid conditions.[4][5] These cold conditions caused Canadian fans and eventually Canada Soccer to nicknameCommonwealth Stadium in Edmonton as the "Iceteca" or "Estadio Iceteca" which was a play on words of theEstadio Azteca, Mexico's home stadium.[6][1] Several fans would later refer to the match as theBattle of the "Iceteca".
Canada and Mexico had faced each other twice before in 2021. Mexico was able to beat Canada2–1 in the2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup semi-finals, defeating them with a winning goal in the 90+9th minute of the match scored byHéctor Herrera.[7] Mexico had also hosted Canada earlier in October for a World Cup qualifying match which ended in a1–1 draw at the Estadio Azteca. Mexico were in second place of the group, tied with first place U.S. with fourteen points, while Canada trailed by one point in third place. Both teams had the opportunity to rise to the top of the group if they could come away with a win.
The first half quickly became a hostile affair, with both sides carrying over the bitterness from the recent fixtures. A particularly hard challenge in the first couple minutes of play left Mexican forwardHirving Lozano down for several minutes as the foul count continued to grow. As tensions rose, both managers were cautioned after half an hour for complaints towards the referees and each other.[8] Canada were able to find the opening goal in first-half stoppage time afterCyle Larin was able to tap in a rebound after goalkeeperGuillermo Ochoa mistakenly fumbled the ball from a long shot byAlistair Johnston.[9]
Seven minutes into the second half, Canada would double their lead when Mexico failed to defend aStephen Eustáquio free kick which landed in thegoal area for Larin to tap in. During the goal celebration, Canadian defenderSam Adekugbe made headlines after celebrating in true Canadian fashion by jumping into a snow bank which had developed near the corner of the pitch. This goal was Larin's twenty-second goal for the Canada men's national team, and equaled the team's top scoring record held byDwayne De Rosario.[10] Both sides continued to get stuck in and frustrations started to boil over near the end as Mexico desperately attempted to find equalizing goals. Mexico would eventually find the net in the ninetieth minute of play, whenHector Herrera was able to head in a cross from the right and half the deficit. This was quickly followed by a skirmish in front of goal as Mexican players attempted to swipe the ball from goalkeeperMilan Borjan, whom had immediately pounced on the ball todelay the restart as the match entered stoppage time. With increased motivation to equalize, Mexico unleashed several promising attacks throughout additional time, most notably in the third additional minute when the Canadian defence failed to clear away a cross and gave away a shot from two yards out. However, Borjan was able to make a goal line save, prompting several protests from Mexican players who believed the ball was over the line.[11] Canada attempted to kill the last couple seconds of the game by holding the ball in the corner, causing an angeredNéstor Araujo to recklessly shoulder chargeLucas Cavallini from behind. The referee issued a yellow card for the challenge before ending the match.
Canada's three points from the match would cause them to surpass the United States and take first place, a position that they would maintain for the rest of the tournament. In Canada, this match was seen by many as a turning point for Canadian soccer and the men's national team, whose normal reputation of being an underdog team in international competition with little prestige or potential, were now being proclaimed as the 'Kings of CONCACAF.'[12] A staggering forty-four thousand fans turned up in sub-zero temperatures to watch the match, which in Edmonton was the national team's third highest attendance record, only sitting below the forty-eight thousand who showed for the match against Costa Rica four days earlier, and the fifty-two thousand people who attended a friendly againstBrazil in 1994. Canada would eventually qualify for theFIFA World Cup for thefirst time since 1986. Despite the loss, Mexico would eventually reach second place and qualify as well for theseventeenth time in their history.
Despite their successful qualifying campaign, Canada was only able to qualify for Pot 4 of theWorld Cup draw, and were placed in a challenging group withBelgium (the 2nd ranked country in the world), as well asCroatia andMorocco who would both eventually reach the semi-finals. Mexico despite qualifying for Pot 2 were also matched with difficult opposition inPoland, the eventual World Cup championsArgentina, andSaudi Arabia.
Canada were able to shock the world in their fourth ever World Cup match by putting up an incredible fight against Belgium, but were unable to find their first points at the World Cup due to a missed penalty-kick and poor finishing in an eventual 1–0 loss.[13] Despite being praised by the international press, and the Belgian coaching staff,[14] Canada would be defeated by Croatia and Morocco, and exited their second World Cup with two goals and no points.
Mexico's run was relatively unsuccessful as well. They managed to hold Poland to a 0–0 draw thanks to a penalty-save from Ochoa,[15] however, their 2–0 loss to Argentina put them in a difficult position on the final matchday.[16] Despite coming away with a win against Saudi Arabia, a 90+5th minute consolation goal for the Saudi Arabia national team eliminated Mexico on goal differential.[17]
United States
Mexico
Canada
Panama
Costa Rica
Jamaica
El Salvador
Honduras
Belgium
Poland
Croatia
Argentina
Morocco
Saudi Arabia
