Canada Soccer's 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in Edmonton, explained
Canada Soccer's Men's National Team is set to play two crucial 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifying matches in Edmonton.
Whether you're a new soccer fan wondering the significance of these matches or you're going to Commonwealth Stadium and want to get familiar with Canada's opponents, Costa Rica and Mexico, CTV News Edmonton has you covered.
Canada will face Costa Rica on Friday, Nov. 12, and Mexico on Tuesday, Nov. 16.
Alphonso Davies training at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. (Twitter/@AlphonsoDavies)
QUALIFIERS, EXPLAINED
Canada is currently in the final stage of CONCACAF qualifiers.
Mexico, United States, Canada, Panama, Costa Rica, Jamaica, El Salvador and Honduras are facing each other twice, home and away, and the top three teams will automatically qualify for the World Cup in Qatar in late 2022.
The fourth-place team will enter a playoff against teams from South America, Asia and Oceania.
After six of 14 matches, Canada sits third in the standings behind Mexico and the United States, respectively, and two points ahead of Panama.
HOW GOOD ARE MEXICO AND COSTA RICA?
The two Spanish-speaking countries are typically among the very best in CONCACAF, especially Mexico.
Mexico is ninth in the FIFA rankings, while Costa Rica is 45th and Canada is 48th.
Mexico has been to 16 of 21 World Cups, including the last seven where they always reached the Round of 16.
Mexico's Raul Jimenez celebrates after scoring from the penalty spot his side's second goal against El Salvador during a qualifying soccer match for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 at Cuscatlan stadium in San Salvador, El Salvador, Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Costa Rica, meanwhile, has qualified to four of the last five World Cup, including the past two.
Canada has only qualified for the 1986 World Cup — in Mexico.
While the United States did not qualify for the 2018 World Cup, the Americans and Mexicans are usually the favourites to lock the top in the standings, so Costa Rica is likely Canada's main competitor for the third birth.
WHO WILL BE THE TOP PLAYERS AT COMMONWEALTH?
By now, most Canadians and soccer fans across the world are familiar with Alphonso Davies, the gifted Edmonton-raised player on Bayern Munich.
Friday will be the first time Davies plays a professional match in Edmonton.
Team Canada's Alphonso Davies takes part in a practice session in Edmonton, Alta., on Wednesday November 10, 2021. Canada takes on Costa Rica in their World Cup match on Friday November 12, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Other players to watch for Canada include Jonathan David, who plays for the French league's reigning champions Lille, and Besiktas' Cyle Larin, the qualifier's top scorer with nine goals.
Mexico has an impressive roster headlined by Raul Jimenez, a striker for Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League.
Goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, midfielder Andres Guardado and striker Hirving Lozano have also played at the highest levels in Europe.
Costa Rica has one of the best goalkeepers in the world in Keylor Navas but he won't play against Canada on Friday after he picked up an injury with PSG.
Kendall Waston, Bryan Oviedo and Bryan Ruiz have been mainstays in the Costa Rica side in recent years.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.