Article content

Whenever Canada and the United States come up against each other in sports, it doesn’t matter the sport, it’s always a contest that carries added meaning.

Canada’s senior men’s soccer team will take on the U.S. in a friendly on Friday (10:30 p.m., TSN1, TSN3, TSN5, RDS2) in Carson, Calif.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Lloyd Barker: National team suffers as MLS gives short shrift to Canadian talent Back to video

The Canadians will resume their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign against mighty Mexico in a home-and-away series on March 25 at BC Place in Vancouver, then in Mexico on March 29. The U.S. has a qualifying series against Guatemala on the same dates.

The so-called friendly encounter against the U.S. represents an ideal competitive test and physical preparation for both teams.

If there is a winner, it would be a departure from their past two matches, when the CONCACAF rivals played to consecutive 0-0 draws in 2012 and 2013. But even if Canada earns a favourable result in this latest edition of the duelling neighbours, there is one discouraging trend that will not change: U.S. soccer programs will remain comfortably ahead of Canada’s on virtually every level.