A record-tying night from Cyle Larin not only propelled Canada to a 2-1 win over Mexico on Tuesday at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, but put the Canadians at the top of their CONCACAF World Cup group.
ThatB次元官网网址檚 right. As the eight remaining teams in CONCACAF each completed the eighth of their 14-game schedules in the Octagon, Canada (4-0-4), a country that hasnB次元官网网址檛 been to a World Cup since 1986, is tops. A point up on the Americans. Two points up on the Mexicans and Panamanians. The top three qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, while the fourth-place team gets a final shot to qualify via an intercontinental playoff.
LarinB次元官网网址檚 two-goal performance gave him a total of 22 for the national side, tying Dwayne De Rosario as the top Canadian menB次元官网网址檚 goal-scorer in history.
Just before the end of the first half, a skipping shot from Canadian defender Alistair Johnston could only be parried by Mexican keeper Guillermo Ochoa. The ball fell right into the path of Larin, who made no mistake.
JohnstonB次元官网网址檚 shot looked to accelerate after it took a wicked hop on the artificial turf, an effect of a slick, cold ball on a hardened playing surface. According to Environment Canada, the game time temperature was at B次元官网网址� 9 C, with a wind chill of B次元官网网址� 14 C. If there was a moment that justified Canada SoccerB次元官网网址檚 decision to stage this game in Edmonton on a November night, that was it.
Eustaquio stands over the free kick. Mexico pre-occupied with Vitoria... and Larin pounces!!
B次元官网网址� Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN)
Larin struck again seven minutes into the second half, as he side-footed home an inch-perfect cross from Stephen Eustaquio, leaving Ochoa flailing on the goal line.
The Mexicans made it close with an 89th-minute goal from the head of substitute Henry Martin.
And then, in five minutes of added time, they came at the Canadians in waves, forcing B次元官网网址榢eeper Milan Borjan into two goal-line saves.
LarinB次元官网网址檚 opener punctuated what was a chippy first half from both teams. Right after the opening kickoff, a Canadian defender flattened Mexican star winger Hirving B次元官网网址淐huckyB次元官网网址� Lozano. Guatemalan referee Mario Escobar ruled it a legal challenge, but Lozano was down on the turf for several minutes.
The game then transformed into a maelstrom of fouls B次元官网网址� a total of 23 in the first half, with 13 of them called on the Mexicans.
Escobar also showed yellow cards to both teamsB次元官网网址� benches in the first 45.
But the Mexicans were held to zero attempts on target. It wasnB次元官网网址檛 until the dying moments of the team, down two goals, that the visitors came alive.
By the end of the match, the foul count was 21-16, Mexico.
READ MORE:
On a night that Larin was in the spotlight, Atiba Hutchinson started the game for Canada B次元官网网址� earning his 90th cap for his country. He passed Julian de Guzman as the most-capped menB次元官网网址檚 player in Canadian soccer history.
The crowd was announced at 44,212 B次元官网网址� despite the fact Canada Soccer announced on Monday that more than 50,000 tickets were sold. But Edmonton was hit with heavy snow Monday and through the day Tuesday, leading to no-shows. A total of 48,806 showed up for FridayB次元官网网址檚 1-0 triumph over Costa Rica, on a calm 1 C evening.
Crews worked furiously before the game, repainting the field lines and shovelling snow that had accumulated near the pitch.
THE CANADIAN PRESS
Like us on and follow us on
