By Canadian Press

Canadian men to host Iran in June soccer friendly at B.C. Place Stadium

May 12, 2022 | 9:19 AM

Canada will host Iran in a men’s soccer friendly on June 5 in Vancouver.

The match is part of a two-game homestand at B.C. Place Stadium. The Canadian men will open CONCACAF Nations League A play there against Curacao on June 9 before closing out the FIFA international window with another CONCACAF Nations League game against Honduras in San Pedro Sula on June 13.

Canada, ranked 38th in the world, and No. 21 Iran are both preparing for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar this November.

Canada will play in Group F alongside Belgium, Serbia and Morocco while Iran is in Group B with England, the U.S. and a European playoff winner still to be decided.

The Vancouver matches are the first for Canada on home soil since qualifying for the World Cup in a 4-0 win over Jamaica at Toronto’s BMO Field on March 27. It also marks the Canadian men’s first visit to B.C. Place since March 2019 when they beat French Guiana 4-1 in CONCACAF Nations League qualifying.

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The Canadians topped the final round of CONCACAF qualifying with an 8-2-4 record. Their last game was a 1-0 loss in Panama on March 30.

Canada has a 1-2-0 all-time record against Iran, winning the most recent encounter 1-0 in April 2001 in Cairo. Iran posted 1-0 wins in 1997 and 1999 games in Toronto and Edmonton, respectively.

The Iran fixture is one of the few World Cup warmups for John Herdman’s team in advance of Qatar. Herdman has said he will look to take the team to Europe in the fall to play several more matches to prepare for Qatar.

The Canadian men have played just two non-CONCACAF teams since Herdman took over in January 2018 — a 1-0 loss to Iceland in January 2020 and a 1-0 win over New Zealand in March 2018 in Herdman’s first game at the helm.

Herdman’s record with the Canadian men is 29-8-4 with the only losses to the U.S. (twice), Mexico (twice), Haiti, Iceland, Costa Rica and Panama.

Canada opens World Cup play Nov. 23 against No. 2 Belgium before facing No. 16 Croatia on Nov. 27 and No. 24 Morocco on Dec. 1.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 12, 2022.

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press