Canada Soccer announces Panama as new opponent for June 5 friendly

Canada Soccer has announced that the Men’s National Team will host Panama this Sunday 5 June at BC Place in Vancouver as part of their preparations for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. The Sunday international “A” match scheduled for 16:00 PT/19:00 ET will be the first of three matches in the June FIFA window ahead of a pair of 2022-23 Concacaf Nations League A matches for both nations, with Canada ready to host Curaçao on Thursday 9 June before travelling to Honduras while Panama will host both Costa Rica and Martinique.

All tickets in the lower bowl for the Canada v Panama match will be priced at $30 to thank Canadian fans for their support in light of the recently cancelled international match and to provide an opportunity to celebrate Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team’s qualification for Qatar 2022. Tickets will go on sale Wednesday 1 June at 12:00 noon PT/15:00 ET via Ticketmaster.ca.

This will mark Canada’s first home match since qualifying for Qatar 2022 after finishing first overall in the Concacaf Final Round. It will also mark the Men’s National Team’s first match at BC Place since a 4:1 win over French Guiana on 24 March 2019 in 2018-19 Concacaf Nations League Qualifying.

Panama finished fifth in the Concacaf Final Round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, narrowly missing out on a playoff spot behind fourth-place Costa Rica. In the Concacaf Final Round, Canada and Panama exchanged home wins, with Canada securing a 4:1 win at BMO Field and Panama winning 1:0 in the final qualifying match in Panama City. Since 1996, Canada hold a 4-6-2 record against Panama including a perfect 4-0-0 record at home in Canada.

Along with the Sunday 5 June match against Panama, Canada will face Curaçao on Thursday 9 June at BC Place and then Honduras at Estadio Olimpico in San Pedro Sula on Monday 13 June. 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. Fans will find extended coverage for the matches across Canada Soccer’s digital channels on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube featuring the hashtag #MNT.

CONCACAF NATIONS LEAGUE

This marks the second edition of Concacaf Nations League, with Canada having finished second in their group in the inaugural 2019-20 edition with a 3-0-1 record. Canada posted back-to-back wins against Cuba in September 2019 and then a home win and away loss against USA in October and November 2019. The 2:0 win against USA at BMO Field was Canada’s first against their Concacaf neighbours in 34 years. USA went on to win the inaugural competition with a 3:2 a.e.t win over Mexico on 6 June 2021.

Beyond the first two group matches in Concacaf Nations League A in June 2022, Canada will face Curaçao away on 25 March 2023 and then Honduras back home on 28 March 2023. Locations and details for those two Concacaf Nations League matches will be announced in the coming year.