The upcoming match will be Canada’s first home game since qualifying for this year’s World Cup in Qatar after finishing first overall in the CONCACAF final round.
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Canada will take on Panama in an international friendly at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver on Sunday. Panama were not the initial opponent for the weekend clash, as the home side were scheduled to play Iran. However, the match with Iran drew criticism from politicians and the families of Canadians killed aboard a Ukrainian passenger plane shot down near Tehran in January 2020. Just days before Sunday’s match, Canada eventually found a replacement team in the form of Panama.
Normally friendlies might not add a lot of significance to a team, however, this is a World Cup year. Hence, the match on Sunday will offer head coach John Herdman a great opportunity to understand his squad which will help him choose wisely for the year-end footballing showdown. The upcoming match will be Canada’s first home game since qualifying for this year’s World Cup in Qatar after finishing first overall in the CONCACAF final round.
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However, their opponents Panama could only manage a fifth-place finish in the CONCACAF Final Round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. As a result, they missed out on a playoff spot, finishing behind fourth-place Costa Rica. Canada’s last match this year was a 1-0 defeat to Panama on March 30th. Since then, Panama have played two more times, losing one and winning another. For now, Panama’s main challenge would be to put up a positive showing in the CONCACAF Nations League which began earlier this week.
Earlier, Canada and Panama swapped home wins in the CONCACAF Final Round. Herdman’s men won 4-1 at BMO Field, while Panama won 1-0 in the final qualifying match in Panama City. Starting with the match against Panama on Sunday, Canada will take on Curaçao at BC Place on Thursday (June 9) and Honduras on Monday (June 13) at Estadio Olimpico in San Pedro Sula. These games provide Herdman with an excellent opportunity to assess his squad’s strengths and weaknesses.
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Bayern Munich left-back Alphonso Davies’ return to the squad will be a big boost for Canada. The flying full-back scored a stunning goal the last time they hosted Panama in October 2021. They also have good options up front with Cyle Larin being the top scorer in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying. Meanwhile, Jonathan David has also been excellent for Lille, establishing him as the main goalscorer for the club. Besides, Lucas Cavallini has also been doing well for the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Panama only played on Thursday, beating Costa Rica 2-0 in their opening fixture at the CONCACAF Nations League. The goals were scored by Ismael Diaz and Cecilio Waterman. In March when Panama beat Canada, Gabriel Torres scored the only goal of the match. The visitors will be looking to make it two wins in a row but it will be interesting to see who makes it to the starting line-up for Sunday’s encounter.
Canada possible line-up: St. Clair, Kennedy, Vitoria, Laryea, Edwards, Hutchinson, Piette, Buchanan, Davies, Larin, David
Panama possible line-up: Mosquera, Blackman, Escobar, Davis, Ramos, Godoy, Carrasquilla, Barcenas, Gondola, Rodriguez, Blackburn
The international friendly between Canada and Panama will take place at the BC Place Stadium in Vancouver and it will kick off at 4:30 am IST on Monday.
Canada’s three June matches will air live on OneSoccer, available as a linear channel on Telus’s Optik TV(Channel 980) as well as online at OneSoccer.ca, through the OneSoccer app and on the fuboTV Canada platform, according to Canada Soccer.
