Will the Canucks remain unbeaten?
The standings at the top of the third and final round of the 2022 CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers remain extremely tight. The USA and Mexico have both taken 14 points from their first seven games. Right behind them is Canada with 13 points, followed by Panama with 11 points.
The two teams, who have faced each other in the Gold Cup semi-finals this year, will be looking to avoid defeat. The bookmakers, meanwhile, are swinging the odds in favour of the visitors in the run-up to the match between Canada and Mexico.
However, betting on the Mexicans to win the point is by no means a foregone conclusion. After all, the Canadians are the only one of the eight nations to reach the third round of World Cup qualifying to be completely unbeaten (three wins, four draws). Accordingly, it is complicated to place a bet on the outcome of the match between Canada and Mexico.
That’s why we prefer to bet on a maximum of two goals. After all, two of the best defensive teams in CONCACAF will be facing each other on matchday eight.
Canada – Statistics & current form
Canada may be the second largest country on earth in terms of surface area after Russia. However, the Canadians, who are regarded as an ice hockey nation, have not yet achieved much in football. Only at the 1986 World Cup did the Canucks qualify for the finals for the first and only time, but after three defeats in the preliminary round they went home last in their group.
Now “Les Rouges” could win a ticket to the World Cup for the first time in 36 years, but they would still have to overcome seven complicated games. At least at the moment, however, the Canadians are in third place and thus have a direct ticket to Qatar.
Still undefeated after seven qualifying games
The task now is to continue the good work of the first half of the season and go one better against heavyweights Mexico. Even a draw would be a success for the Canucks, who are the only unbeaten nation in CONCACAF 2022 World Cup qualifying (three wins, four draws).
Most recently, “Les Rouges” not only celebrated an impressive 4-1 home victory over main rivals Panama, but also secured another important 1-0 win against Costa Rica on Saturday.
More and more Canadian players make the jump to Europe
The main reason for the current upswing is to be found in the youth work, which is currently bearing fruit. With 21-year-old Alphonso Davies (Bayern), 21-year-old Jonathan David (Lille) and 22-year-old Liam Millar (Basel), three talented Canucks players have made it to big clubs in Europe.
Those young guns will certainly be important again in the home game against the Mexicans, where “Les Rouges” will be the underdogs.
Predicted Canada line-up:
Borjan – Adekugbe – Miller – Vitória – Laryea – Millar – Kaye – Eustáquio . Buchanan – Davies – David
Last matches played by Canada:
World Cup Qualifiers CONCACAF Finals
11/13 2021 – Canada 1 – 0 Costa Rica
10/14 2021 – Canada 4 – 1 Panama
10/11 2021 – Jamaica 0 – 0 Canada
10/08 2021 – Mexico 1 – 1 Canada
09/09 2021 – Canada 3 – 0 El Salvador
Mexico – Statistics & current form
The Mexican national football team is practically the absolute poster child in the CONCACAF association. El Tri is not only the record winner in the Gold Cup with eleven overall victories, but the last time they failed to qualify for a World Cup was in 1982.
The last time the Mexicans, who were suspended in 1990, were involved in the tournament was seven times in a row, making it through the preliminary round on all seven occasions, but then failing to reach the round of 16 on each occasion.
Second only after defeat in the USA
Now Gerardo Martino’s side, who lost 1-0 to USA in extra time in this summer’s Gold Cup final and narrowly missed out on title number 12, are looking for another direct ticket to the 2022 World Cup, and El Tri are well on their way.
After six games without defeat and 14 out of a possible 18 points, however, there was a first setback on Saturday: The Mexicans lost 2-0 to the Americans and will only enter the second half of the third qualifying round as group runners-up due to a goal difference that is two worse than the previous round.
20 of the 34 international matches against Canada have been won
El Tri are also favoured in Canada, especially as they have won 20 of their 34 international matches against the Canucks so far. Nevertheless, the Martino eleven travels to a very in-form team after the recent defeat without momentum, which is why betting on the away win in Canada against Mexico should by no means be a foregone conclusion.
Nevertheless, despite the fact that 19 of the 27 players nominated earn their money in Mexico, the Mexican squad is ultimately much better than the eight legionnaires who play leading roles in teams such as Atlético Madrid, Ajax Amsterdam, FC Porto, SSC Napoli and Wolverhampton.
Predicted Mexico line-up:
Ochoa – Gallardo – Vásquez – Domínguez – Rodríguez – Herrera – Álvarez – Romo – Lozano – Corona – Jiménez
Last matches played by Mexico:
World Cup Qualifiers CONCACAF Finals
11/13 2021 – USA 2 – 0 Mexico
Friendly match
10/28 2021 – Mexico 2 – 3 Ecuador
WM Qualification CONCACAF Finals
10/14 2021 – El Salvador 0 – 2 Mexico
10/11 2021 – Mexico 3 – 0 Honduras
10/08 2021 – Mexico 1 – 1 Canada
Canada – Mexico Direct comparison / H2H balance
Head to head: 6 – 8 – 20
There have been a total of 34 international matches between the two nations and the Mexicans lead the head-to-head comparison with 20 wins. The first leg in Mexico ended in a 1-1 draw on 7 October 2021. Before that, El Tri also beat the Canadians 2-1 in the semifinals at this year’s Gold Cup.
Canada – Mexico Tip
When it comes to Canada vs Mexico, the prediction has to take into account that the Canucks are still unbeaten in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying as the last nation after Mexico’s recent 2-0 defeat in the USA. Accordingly, the Canadian selection brings a lot of momentum with it, although their key players all still look very young and inexperienced. That could well make the difference in a clash with Mexico, who are very well-stocked across the board.
Nevertheless, too many contingencies play into a bet on the outcome of the match, which is why it is much more coherent to switch to the goal bet. Considering that both teams hardly conceded any goals – Canada averaged 0.57 goals per game and Mexico 0.71 – it makes the most sense to bet on a low-scoring match.
