PREVIEW – The Mexico v Canada game will be the last game in the month for both teams. Both teams enter this game with impressive victories on their Saturday fixtures as both teams get ready for Tuesday.
Mexico vs Canada: Both Teams Are on A High
Mexico (2-1-2)
Mexico, after a lacklustre 2024 Copa América competition, has opened their friendlies with a dominant win over New Zealand. In this game, Mexico did not allow New Zealand to get a single shot on goal. Also, like Canada against the U.S., Mexico was on the front foot, creating scoring chance after scoring chance against New Zealand. Also, another factor mentioned by Friends of Football New Zealand, was César Huerta, who came from the bench and had immediately two great scoring chances, including putting one of them into the back of the net.
This played a big part in Mexico winning 3-0 over New Zealand. Also, Mexico did a good job preventing Chris Wood from getting the ball, as noted by Tony Smith of The Post:
Canada (1-3-1)
Wins/losses in penalty shoot-outs were counted as ties with Canada.
The CANMNT, for the first time since 1957, won on U.S. soil against the USMNT. They were the better team in the game and could have won by a larger and/or bigger margin, if they took advantage of their scoring opportunities. This is what Jesse Marsch said about Saturday’s game (Source: Joshua Kloke of The Athletic):
“It made me proud to be their coach.”
Marsch would also say this about the Canadian men’s national soccer team (Source: CANMNT X Account):
Moïse Bombito and Derek Cornelius had excellent games, while Jacob Shaffelburg and Jonathan David had fantastic games upfront.
Players to Watch Out For
For Mexico, Huerta, could be a player to watch as he made an impact as a substitute. Luis Romo of Cruz Azul is another player to watch, as he had a goal, and assisted on Roberto Alvarado’s goal. As a team, Mexico also did a good job of keeping Chris Wood at bay with minimal scoring opportunities.
As for Canada, Bombito and Derek Cornelius continue to impress on the defensive end. Also, both Jacob Shaffelburg and Jonathan David were impressive on the offensive end in Canada’s 2-1 win over Mexico.
Two players to note though is Ali Ahmed, who currently plays for the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, and Mathieu Choinière, who made the recent move to the Grasshopper Club Zurich. This is what the Canada men’s soccer head coach, Jesse Marsch, said about Ahmed and Choiniere, when asked about Ahmed (Source: OneSoccer YouTube Account):
“Fantastic, fantastic, but I spoke to him, and again, pushing himself with his club, I have been watching him play for his club, and he has elevated his performances a lot. And so, I said to him, so look, it is not like you are a different player, but you are a lot more mature player, you’re a lot more dynamic player, and you are being awarded for it in all phases of the game,” Marsch said. “The other one I would say is Mathieu Choiniere, Choiniere was very good, all over the place, good on the ball, covering the ground, winning duels, really outstanding, both of those guys I thought were outstanding.”
Both teams will feel good about themselves as they head into Tuesday night wanting to finish their September international window with two wins.
Head-to-Head and How to Watch the Game
READ MORE: The CANMNT September Roster Revealed – Analysis
These teams have not met each other often in recent years. The last time these two teams met was in 2021, when both teams faced each other three times. Mexico eliminated Canada from the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup, but Canada had the last laugh in World Cup qualifying, as they drew at Estadio Azteca in Mexico, and won 2-1 at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta.
Mexico has an overwhelming head-to-head advantage over Canada historically, having a 24-9-4 record over the CANMNT. Also, the last time Mexico lost to Canada on U.S. soil was in the 2000 Concacaf Gold Cup, a tournament in which Canada would eventually win.
It is hard to predict how this game will go as some of the players for the Canadian team have changed since both teams met each other as well as each team having different head coaches than in 2021.
The game in Arlington, Texas will take place at the AT&T Stadium to face Mexico on September 10, 2024, at 8:30pm ET. Also, even though this will be a neutral game in the U.S., since the state of Texas is close to Mexico, expect a lot of Mexican fans to come out and make it a home game for the Mexican team. The game will be shown live on OneSoccer.
Photo Credit: CANMNT X Account on September 7, 2024.
