Canada Friendlies Before 2026 World Cup

Canada will be playing the FIFA World Cup on home soil this summer as the co-hosts with the United States and Mexico. Not only is this the first World Cup held in Canada, but the Canadian national team is still looking for its first World Cup win after going winless in 1986 and 2022. 

Canada ramps up its efforts for the World Cup with some tune-up friendlies before the tournament, which were recently announced. As of early March, the Canadian squad is ranked 29th in the world by FIFA. 

Here is the Friendlies’ schedule with the date, team, ranking, and location. 

• March 28 - Iceland (74) – Toronto
• March 31 – Tunisia (47) – Toronto
• June 1 – Uzbekistan (52) – Edmonton
• June 5 – Ireland (59) – Montreal 

Canada Can’t Get the Big Boys 

As you can see from the Canada friendlies, they are not playing any elite teams. However, Tunisia and Uzbekistan are playing in the 2026 World Cup, and Ireland is still in the mix in UEFA’s qualifying playoffs. The USA also recently revealed its friendlies’ schedule, and it is the opposite of Canada's, facing strong teams such as Senegal (12), Germany (10), and Belgium (9). 

Canada had eight-figure offers from several of the top European teams to travel across the pond for pre–World Cup friendlies. However, Team Canada rejected them, wanting to play on home soil in front of their fans to ramp up interest for the massive summer tournament. Conversely, European teams were hesitant to travel to Canada, opting to stay at home. 

For the top European teams the weather was an issue for the March matches, and while they could have been held in the indoor stadium in Vancouver, a European team traveling all the way to the West Coast was far from appealing. The USA did not have that issue, as they are playing their friendlies on the East Coast at the indoor Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. 

Canada’s Chances this Summer 

While Team Canada will not be facing any of the top teams in World Cup friendlies, they caught a break when they were drawn into one of the weaker groups for the tournament. They were drawn into Group B with Qatar (56), Switzerland (18), and the UEFA Path A winner. 

Canada will really catch another break if Italy (13) does not win UEFA Path A. That is because the other three teams in the group are not world powers in Bosnia and Herzegovina (71), Northern Ireland (69), and Wales (35), whom they beat in a friendly last year. 

The Canadians open the World Cup on June 12, playing in Toronto against the UEFA Path A winner. Then their next two group matches are in Vancouver against Qatar (June 18) and Switzerland (June 24). 

While Canada has yet to win a World Cup match in the two tournaments they have played in, their chances to advance to the knockout stage are enhanced with the expanded field this summer. The 2026 World Cup is expanded to 48 teams from 32. Now with 16 more teams the top two teams from each of the 12 groups as well as the eight third-place group finishers will advance to the 32-team knockout stage. 

The 2026 World Cup Betting Odds 

While on home soil, Canada is still a major long shot to win the World Cup. They are at 250.00 at most Canadian sportsbooks. There are also group winner odds at some betting sites, where Canada has the third-best odds at 7.50, after the UEFA Path A winner (likely Italy) at even, Switzerland at 2.25, and Qatar at 26.00. 

At Canadian sportsbooks, Spain has the best odds to win the 2026 World Cup at 5.50, followed by: 

• England (6.00) – Has not won the World Cup since 1966 as the host.
• Argentina (9.00) – Defending World Cup champion.
• Brazil (9.00) – Has the most World Cup wins with five, but has not won since 2002.
• France (9.00) – Two-time World Cup winners and runner-up in 2022.
• Portugal (12.00) – Best finish in the World Cup was third place in 1966.
• Germany (13.00) – Four-time World Cup winners.

Final Race to the World Cup: Six Spots Still Open Before March 26 Showdowns

There are still six spots up for grabs for the World Cup including one group where the winner will be in Canada’s group this summer.

There are six groups each where the winning teams from each after two matches will advance to the World Cup. There are four groups of four teams and two groups with three teams where one has already made the finals.

Here are the groups and the semifinals matchups, which begin March 26. 

UEFA Path A

• Wales vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Italy vs. Northern Ireland 

UEFA Path B

• Ukraine vs. Sweden
• Poland vs. Albania 

UEFA Path C

• Slovakia vs. Kosovo
• Turkey vs. Romania 

UEFA Path D

• Czech Republic vs. Ireland
• Denmark vs. North Macedonia 

IC Path 1 

• New Caledonia vs. Jamaica winner will face DR Congo

IC Path 2 

• Bolivia vs. Suriname winner will face Iraq 

2026 FIFA World Cup Qualified Teams: 42 of 48 Spots Already Filled

Key Dates for the 2026 FIFA World Cup