Canada to continue World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifying campaign in Hamilton, ON
Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team will face USA at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario on 30 January. The match, presented by Oat Canada, comes in the middle of a three-match FIFA window for the Men’s National Team who will face Honduras on 27 January and then travel to El Salvador for a 2 February fixture to close the window after the home match. Ticket details will be announced in the coming weeks for the pivotal FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Qualifiers match.
“We are excited to bring the Men’s National Team FIFA World Cup Qualifiers match to Hamilton in January with the team riding a nation-wide wave of support at the top of the table and after an incredible display from Edmontonians in November,” said Dr. Nick Bontis, Canada Soccer President. “We are looking forward to seeing a Sea of Red at Tim Hortons Field in January for the Men’s National Team’s FIFA World Cup Qualifiers as we have throughout the Final Round with our fans continuing to push the Men’s National Team to new heights.”
The match will be the first time Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team have played an International ‘A’ match in Hamilton, Ontario. The Women’s National Team last played in Hamilton against Germany in an International ‘A’ Friendly in 2018. All matches in Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team World Cup Qualifiers will be broadcast LIVE on OneSoccer, including TELUS channel 980, onesoccer.ca, Sportsnet and RDS.
Canada sits undefeated at the top of the table in the Concacaf Final Round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers after their back-to-back victories at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, AB with a 2:1 victory over visiting Mexico on 16 November and a 1:0 victory over Costa Rica on 12 November. The win moved Canada into first place with 16 points from eight matches (4-4-0) ahead of USA (15 points), Mexico (14 points) and Panama (14 points).
CANADA SOCCER’S MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM PROGRAM
Canada has built plenty of momentum in a landmark year for the Men’s National Team Program that featured a record 19 international matches including FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and the Concacaf Gold Cup. Canada have posted a record of 13-4-2 with nine clean sheets and a record 55 goals scored. Canada also set a record with eight consecutive wins and reached the Concacaf Gold Cup Semifinals for the first time since 2007.
Canada have played eight of their 14 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in the Concacaf Final Round from September through November 2021: three matches in September, three matches in October, and two matches in November. In 2022, Canada will play three more matches in January/February and three more matches in March. Along with Honduras, USA and El Salvador, Canada’s other opponents in the Concacaf Final Round are Costa Rica, Jamaica, Mexico, and Panama.
To reach the Concacaf Final Round, Canada won their First Round group against Aruba, Bermuda, Cayman Islands and Suriname, then eliminated Haiti in a head-to-head Second Round series. This marks the first time since 1997 that Canada have reached the Concacaf Final Round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. From the Concacaf Final Round of eight nations, the top-three nations automatically qualify for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ and the fourth-best nation advance to an inter-continental playoff for additional FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™Qualifiers.
Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team are two-time Concacaf champions, previously winning the 1985 Concacaf Championship and 2000 Concacaf Gold Cup. This year marked Canada’s 15th participation at the Concacaf Gold Cup since 1991. Along with their first-place finish in 2000, Canada reached the Semifinals in 2002, 2007, and 2021. Across the past five years from 2017 to 2021, Canada are one of only four nations that finished top-six across all four Concacaf major tournaments: fifth place in Concacaf Nations League A, sixth place at both the 2017 and 2019 Concacaf Gold Cups, and a semi-final finish at the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Brad FougereCorporate Communications | Communications corporatives
bfougere@canadasoccer.com
m. +1 613.299.1587
Richard Scott
National Teams Program | Programme de l’équipe nationale
rscott@canadasoccer.com
m. +1 613.818.0305