Tim Hortons Field will be the venue for the big match against the States
Hamilton, Ontario… stand up! Tim Hortons Field has been announced as the venue for the Canadian Men’s National Team home match against archrivals the United States on January 30th, 2022.
Canada to continue World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifying campaign in Hamilton, ON #CANMNT https://t.co/6SoCNAPLNb pic.twitter.com/Yo6G8skD9b
— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) November 25, 2021
Having already played their first three home matches in Toronto, and the most recent two in Edmonton, Canada will play out of Hamilton for their next home match when they continue their quest for World Cup qualification in the new year.
Still undefeated in qualifying, Canada will play three matches during the next international window in January. The Reds will first pay a visit to Honduras on the 27th before hosting the USMNT in Hamilton on the 30th. The Canadian team will then round out the qualifying window with an away match in El Salvador on February 2nd.
The last time the USMNT kicked off in Canada was the famous 2-0 Canadian win at BMO Field in October 2019. Les Rouges have been undefeated at home since March 2016 and will be looking to keep up their strong form at home when they welcome back the States north of the border in new surroundings at Tim Hortons Field.
There was a lot of speculation about where the January home match would be held when the schedule for the final round of qualifying was initially released. Vancouver might have originally seemed like the ideal fit – since BC Place is an indoor stadium – but it seems as though concerns over travel influenced the final decision by Canada Soccer.
With the home game against the USA sandwiched between two away matches in Central America, Canada Soccer likely wanted to keep the travel time between matches to a minimum. Hosting the match in Southern Ontario definitely helps in this regard compared to travelling to Vancouver or Edmonton.
The choice to host the match at The Donut Box rather than BMO Field likely came down to the available playing surface. Tim Hortons Field has an artificial turf playing surface while BMO Field has hybrid grass which will likely be frozen and unsafe to play on in January.
Though Hamilton has never hosted Canada’s senior men’s side, Tim Hortons Field has some history with hosting other Canadian squads. The most recent Canadian national squad to take the field in The Hammer was the CWNT when they lost to Germany 2-3 in a 2018 friendly. Canada’s under-23 men’s team also played three matches in Hamilton during the 2015 Pan American games.
As a nice side note, Canada’s starting goalkeeper Milan Borjan will get to play for his country in his hometown for the first time. Hoping to join him at Tim Hortons Field will be Steeltown native Theo Corbeanu. Corbeanu has been in good form for his club side Sheffield Wednesday and will now be even more eager to receive a call-up from John Herdman for the January qualifiers – now that the home stadium has been announced.
HAMILTON, ONTARIO THERE IS JUST NO WAY. https://t.co/pgY6Wwy8BA
— Theo Corbeanu (@CorbeanuTheodor) November 25, 2021
As a born-and-raised Hamiltonian, I know The Electric City will be charged up for this one. We can’t wait to welcome the national team to our special city! Allez Les Rouges!
Kickoff time and ticket details for the match at Tim Hortons Field will be announced by Canada Soccer in the coming weeks.