Freezing weather in store for Canada-USA World Cup qualifier in Hamilton
Canadian men’s national soccer team coach John Herdman is embracing the Hamilton weather.
Ahead of Canada’s FIFA World Cup qualifying home match against the USA, Herdman is set to lead out a Canadian roster looking to protect home field advantage at Tim Hortons Field.
And the Canadians will be battling the winter weather once again, with the temperature in Hamilton set for -6 Celsius at kickoff time.
“We’ve got all our layers on, the boys are having a good laugh in the cold,” Herdman told reporters yesterday.
Could keep going until the lights go out š#CANMNT #ForCanada pic.twitter.com/eL6qu2HahB
— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) January 29, 2022
But Canada has shown they’ve been able to thrive in the cold before.
Back in November, Canada beat both Mexico and Costa Rica at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium in sub-zero temperatures.
In more recent news, Canada is looking to build off a 2-0 road win on Thursday night in Honduras, their first win in the Central American country since 1985.
Hamilton wasn’t necessarily slated as the expected venue for the match. Vancouver’s BC Place was perhaps the consensus pick due to its indoor nature, but road games on either side against Honduras last week and El Salvador on Wednesday provided Canada to select something with a bit less travel time in between games.
Herdman, who lives in Vancouver, said the team is prepared to “thrive” in the potentially chaotic Hamilton weather.
“There’s no better place for *me* to play a football match [than Vancouver],” Herdman said. “But it was about the needs of the players first. It was about optimizing the travel.”
At five wins and four draws, Canada remains the only unbeaten team in CONCACAF qualifying. But the USA is right at their heels, sitting just one point back and with a chance to overtake the Canadians should they come out victorious.
“It feels like a real derby match,” Herdman added. “It’s a fight for the top of the table. So I think that’s that’s all I need to say in terms of what this what this means to us now.”
Canada remains without star player Alphonso Davies, sidelined with COVID-19 related mild myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle.
12,000 fans are expected in attendance in line with Ontario’s 50% capacity restrictions on outdoor sporting events.
Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. ET/ 12 pm PST, with the game being broadcast on OneSoccer and Sportsnet.