Say the word “Iceteca” to any soccer fan in this country, and it’ll instantly bring a smile to their face as they recall one of the best moments in the history of the Canadian men’s team.  

It was on a cold, snowy night at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium on Nov. 16, 2021, that Canada earned a memorable 2-1 win over Mexico, a result that set Les Rouges on a path towards qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. 

Fast-forward to Monday: On a cold, rainy and miserable night, Canada marked its first time back at Commonwealth Stadium with a convincing 2-0 win over Uzbekistan in its penultimate match before this summer’s FIFA World Cup. Substitutes Jonathan Osorio and Jayden Nelson scored for the Canadians in this international friendly, while Tani Oluwaseyi also made an impact off the bench with a pair of assists. 

Here are three takeaways from the match. 

A game of two different halves from Canada 

Canada sits 30th in the current FIFA world rankings, 20 spots above Uzbekistan, which will make its World Cup debut this summer.  

But it was the visitors who carried the bulk of play and looked far more dangerous in the first half, as evidenced by their 9-3 edge in total shots. While Canadian forwards Jonathan David and Cyle Larin were rather anonymous, the best chances of the opening 45 minutes fell to Eldor Shomurodov. If not for the Uzbekistan forward’s lack of finishing, the visitors could have easily gone into halftime with a 2-0 lead. 

Canada looked timid and erratic before the break and needed to do something to give itself a jump start. It came in the form of wholesale changes by coach Jesse Marsch, who brought seven players off the bench at the start of the second half, including both eventual goal scorers Osorio and Nelson, as well as Tani Oluwaseyi. 

The new blood injected some........

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