Tense Mexico, Canada match ends in goalless draw

Mexico and Canada battled to a 0-0 draw in a friendly at AT&T Stadium in Dallas on Tuesday.

Played in front of a crowd of 32,623, the exhibition quickly showcased a proactive approach from Canada. Motivated after recently defeating the United States 2-1 last Saturday, head coach Jesse Marsch and his men aimed to pressure El Tri's backline, often leaving their opponents chasing and hunting down the ball.

Mexico, who are being led by new coach Javier Aguirre, responded with a scrappy approach, amassing a total of 13 fouls and two yellow cards within the first half.

With plenty of stops and starts to the game, both goalkeepers had little to do throughout the start to the friendly.

That is until the 43rd minute.

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Following a dangerous header from Canada's Cyle Larin, Mexican goalkeeper Luis Angel Malagon was forced to make a highlight-worthy save shortly before half-time.

In the early stages of the second half, Mexico began to apply more attacking pressure. During the 54th minute, striker Santiago Giménez nearly opened up the scoring after his shot from short-range was stopped by Canadian goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair.

St. Clair then stepped up again in the 72nd minute with an acrobatic save that denied a goal from winger Roberto "Piojo" Alvarado.

Despite Mexico's late push, and a couple of second half shots from Canada as well, both teams were held to a 0-0 scoreline by the final whistle.

Mexico close out their first set of games under Aguirre, who previously coached El Tri in 2001-02 and 2009-10) with a victory and draw after defeating New Zealand 3-0 over the weekend. Next month, Mexico will return with friendlies against Valencia on Oct. 12 and the United States on Oct. 15.

With a similar 1W-1D-0L record during the break, Canada close out the international window without a loss after their previous victory over the United States. Looking ahead they'll face Panama in a friendly on Oct. 15.