Canada Soccer announced Wednesday that the Canadian men’s national team will take on Wales in an international friendly on Tuesday, Sept. 9 in Swansea. This announcement comes just a day after Canada Soccer revealed that Les Rouges will also play a friendly against Romania on Friday, Sept. 5 in Bucharest. Wales were 29th in the most recent FIFA World Rankings, two spots ahead of 31st-ranked Canada. This will be the third time the two nations have met in a senior men’s match, following two games in May 1986 — a 2-0 Canadian win in Toronto and a 3-0 Welsh triumph in Vancouver — as well a 1-0 win for Wales at Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground in 2004. The Welsh team has been in good form lately, with just one defeat in 10 matches in 2024, and they’re unbeaten since former Premier Leaguer striker Craig Bellamy took over as manager in July. They secured promotion to UEFA Nations League A by winning their group in League B over Turkey, Iceland and Montenegro. Wales narrowly missed qualification to last summer’s European Championship, losing a qualifying play-off to Poland on penalties. Nonetheless, this is a strong opponent for Canada featuring multiple experienced Premier League players, including Tottenham Hotspur duo Brennan Johnson and Ben Davies. “We’re excited to be playing another high-quality opponent in Wales in September,” said Canada head coach Jesse Marsch in a statement. “Most of their players are playing in the Premier League and Championship which will make for an excellent test for our group.” Both of Canada’s friendlies in the September window will be broadcast live on OneSoccer, as well as Fubo TV and on TELUS Optik TV channel 980. The Canadian men’s national team will next be in action in the 2024-25 Concacaf Nations League Finals in March, where they’ll take on Mexico in the semi-final on March 20 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
Written by:Charlie O'Connor Clarke