TORONTO – Canada Soccer announced Sunday that the Canadian men’s team will play Jamaica in an international friendly on Sept. 2 at BMO Field.
Canadian soccer’s governing body revealed the news during a press conference at BMO Field where the women’s team was scheduled to play Costa Rica in an exhibition match later in the day.
Former national men’s team stalwart Paul Stalteri will be honoured as a member of the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame on Sept. 2.
Canada and Jamaica have met each other 19 times at senior level, with the Reds leading the series with eight wins and six draws. Canada won the previous match in a 3-1 decision at BMO Field on Sept. 9, 2014.
Jamaica is 79th in the current FIFA world rankings. Canada is 109th, sandwiched between Jordan and Equatorial Guinea.
The Reds’ previous game in Toronto was Sept. 4, 2015 when it earned a 3-0 win over Belize.
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Before the Sept. 2 game, Canada will compete in this summer’s CONCACAF Gold Cup. The Reds will play group-stage games against French Guiana (July 7 in Harrison, New Jersey), Costa Rica (July 11 in Houston) and Honduras (July 14 in Frisco, Texas).
The top two nations in each of the first-round groups – as well as the two best third-place teams – advance to the knockout round.
Canada won the Gold Cup in 2000, but has failed to get out of the group stage in each of the last three tournaments. It’s only scored one goal over those three competitions, too.
The Canadian team will prepare for this year’s Gold Cup with a friendly against Curacao next Tuesday in Montreal.
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