I went to the international friendly between Canada and Ecuador at BMO Field last Thursday, which ended in a 0-0 draw where Canada played down a man since the 6th minute of the match. If you are looking for tactical analysis, look elsewhere, as I will talk about my observations with the stadium, the crowd, and the general atmosphere and vibe of the match in general.
There was a closure of a few of the gates to enter the stadium due to the ongoing renovations for the 2026 World Cup, so everyone had to enter the stadium through the gates on the south side. I got to the stadium roughly an hour before kick off, and the gates were not that busy during that time. However, as the kick off time got closer, I saw the line ups to enter the stadium get bigger. There was still a big line up to get into the stadium at the start of the match, and I feel like many people did not know that they had to get to the stadium early to catch the start of the match. The gates opened around 90 minutes before kick off, and FIFA was not going to delay the match because fans were still trying to get into the stadium. I wish stadium staff could have opened more gates to enter the stadium (this would be difficult because of the renovations), but take this advice from someone who was stuck in line ups outside BMO Field and missed numerous starts of matches because of it; try to get to the stadium early.
I was walking around the stadium concourses before the match, and there were some pre-match festivities on the east stand concourses with an Ecuadorian DJ spinning some Latin tunes, which was cool. There was a big crowd checking out the party and some were dancing along to the music. There would always be some impromptu parties going on outside the stadium, but I never seen one going on inside the stadium, and especially a party the MLSE and/or FIFA would allow.
BMO Field had a sold-out crowd for this match, and by the 30th minute, everyone had finally entered the stadium. The entire east and west grandstands of the stadium were full of Ecuador fans. It felt like the entire Ecuadorian population of Canada descended on the stadium that night. I felt like I was an away fan in the away sections of the Voyageurs at our home stadium. This is the reality of being a football fan supporting Canada or the USA and going to a match against a country with a bigger population than the Caribbean countries. You are going to be the minority in your own stadium at home. I will never begrudge someone coming out to support their country and that country's football team when they come visit Canada or the USA, but I also know some Canadian football fans who despise seeing opposing fans in such large numbers in what they would call their stadium.
I was expecting for the Canadian crowd in the south stands to bring the noise for this match, but the red card to Ali Ahmed in the 6th minute for a reckless high boot killed the atmosphere for the rest of the match. Ecuador had mountains of possession from that point on, but they barely did anything on the offensive end due to Canada's defensive shape. There was not anything too exciting in the match, and the match ended up being a dull 0-0 draw. I remember when the red card incident happened, the guy standing a couple of seats over was so incensed that he threw a whole can of beer down the entire section, landing close to the net. The throw was so low that I was surprised the can of beer did not hit anyone. This is a reminder to not throw anything in the stadium and be an idiot like that guy.
Anyways, those were my thoughts on my experience watching Canada vs. Ecuador.
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