VANCOUVER — The Canadian men's national team is returning to Vancouver for a crucial World Cup qualifier.
Canada Soccer announced Thursday that the country's home game against Mexico on March 25 will be played at B.C. Place Stadium.
Ranked 88th in the world by FIFA, Canada opened the penultimate round of CONCACAF qualifying for the 2018 tournament in Russia with a 1-0 victory over Honduras in front of 20,108 fans at a raucous B.C. Place on Nov. 13 before earning a scoreless tie in El Salvador four days later.
Canadian head coach Benito Floro hinted the team would return to Vancouver moments after the Honduras match, while the players raved about the atmosphere.
"The crowd was fantastic," midfielder Will Johnson said at the time. "The fans were unbelievable. It was a real treat to come in and see a lot of red everywhere."
No. 22 Mexico sits atop Group A with six points, followed by Canada with four points, No. 99 El Salvador (one point) and No. 101 Honduras (no points). Canada plays Mexico home and away in March before visiting Honduras and hosting El Salvador in September.
The 12 countries currently left standing in the region that covers North and Central America and the Caribbean have been divided into three groups. The two best teams in each round-robin pool advance to the final round of qualifying, with the top three getting World Cup places. The fourth will take on an Asian country in a two-game playoff.
Canada's only World Cup appearance was back in 1986.
