Canada announces pre-World Cup friendly schedule

Canada Soccer has officially released the schedule for their pre-World Cup September window, with a pair of opponents set.

Canada will be travelling to Vienna, Austria, where they’ll get the chance to face tournament hosts Qatar on September 23, before facing Uruguay on September 27.

Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team to face Qatar and Uruguay in September 🍁

Canada are scheduled to face Qatar on Friday 23 September and Uruguay on Tuesday 27 September in Vienna, Austria.

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— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) July 13, 2022

“We have an opportunity to experience two FIFA World Cup opponents within a similar time frame as a FIFA World Cup schedule, so these two matches will provide our players and staff with a chance to rehearse our on- and off-the-field processes and systems aligned to the competition’s three-day turnaround,” said John Herdman, head coach of the men’s national team. “With the second match against Uruguay, it will be a genuine tier-one test given the depth and quality of their players which gives us an opportunity to evaluate our squad and our approach.”

Canada has never faced Qatar previously. Their lone match against Uruguay came in 1986, where they lost 3-1 in a pre-World Cup friendly prior to their only other appearance on the world’s biggest stage. Qatar sits 49th in the FIFA world rankings, while Uruguay is ranked 13th.

Meanwhile, Canada currently sits 43rd in the FIFA rankings. The matches are currently the last two on the schedule prior to the World Cup, where Canada will kick off against the Belgians on November 23rd.

Both Canada friendly matches in Austria will be streaming on OneSoccer. No TV broadcast option has yet been announced.