The ‘Iceteca’ awaits: Canada’s World Cup Qualifier vs. Mexico will be freezing

TORONTO, Canada—When Canada welcomes Mexico in the final round of Concacaf FIFA World Cup Qualifying at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta on Tuesday night, temperatures are expected to drop as low as -9°C, feeling like -17°C at times.

The frigid Canadian weather has brought plenty of snow overnight and this morning, with many now dubbing Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium ‘The Iceteca’, named after Mexico City’s famous Estadio Azteca.

Canada has long been on the receiving end of the Concacaf’ery, an all encompassing made-up term used to describe some of the ridiculous antics that occur off the pitch — or sometimes on — in the region. But now, Canada are real players in the game, embracing their own culture and using the cold of the North to their advantage.

Forget elevation or humidity, welcome to our house. This is Canada.

Regardless of whether or not this is actually an advantage for Canada — we’ll have to wait and see how this actually plays out to come to a conclusion on that front — it’s cool (no pun intended) that we are now establishing our own ‘Concacaf-ery’ identity, and you have to think, at the very least, it’s on the minds of Canada’s opposition, the Mexicans, on Tuesday.

At the very least, it’s for sure effecting their media.

Kickoff is set for 9:05 pm ET today and you can catch tonight’s match on Sportsnet or OneSoccer. For those that are in attendance, bundle up and we commend you — and please, no snow balls! And for those who are watching at home, enjoy the spectacle.

Allez les rouges!