(Arlington) Canada and Mexico drew 0-0 on Tuesday in a duel that was anything but friendly.
Mexico, ranked 17e in the world, played a physical match from the start, pushing back at will the Canadians ranked 40the. But while there were far more fouls (43 in total, including 24 for Mexico) than scoring opportunities, each goalkeeper had to make a spectacular save to keep the score at 0-0.
There weren’t many people to see the lackluster game. The crowd was announced at 32,623 at the 80,000-seat AT&T Stadium, home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.
Tempers flared from the 18the minute when Julian Araujo was shown a yellow card after surprising Canadian captain Alphonso Davies with a stud tackle.
Seconds later, the Bournemouth defender somehow escaped further punishment by stepping on Mathieu Choiniere’s foot. Cesar Huerta followed Araujo with a yellow card in the 26th minutee minute.
American referee Victor Rivas, voted MLS Referee of the Year in 2023, was busy. He handed out seven yellow cards, including four to Mexico, and he could have given out more.
“It’s a compliment to the progress we’ve made as a team that a club like Mexico is coming into this game with this strategy,” said Canada head coach Jesse Marsch.
Mexico was penalized 13 times in the first half, compared to six for Canada. Both teams had three shots on goal, including one on target, in the first 45 minutes.
As Canada sought to gradually move the ball up the field, Mexico opted – unsuccessfully – for long passes.
“Overall, I think we have taken another giant step forward in our development,” Marsch said.
The first chance for either team came in the 43rd minute.e minute, when Mexican goalkeeper Luis Malagon made an exceptional one-handed diving save to stop Cyle Larin’s header from Ali Ahmed’s cross.
Seconds later, Canadian goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair had no problem deflecting a lobbed shot from Huerta, Mexico’s first on target.
Canada had 57% possession in the first half.
Derek Cornelius’ header from a Choiniere corner missed the target early in the second half. At the other end, St. Clair stopped Santiago Gimenez after a fortuitous rebound sent the Mexican forward into the Canadian penalty area.
St. Clair made a big save in the 72nde minute, deflecting a Roberto Alvarado shot over the crossbar. Mexico were dangerous in the final minutes, but Davies made a big save as he got involved defensively.