Canadian men will play next 2 World Cup qualifying matches in U.S.
Team faces Aruba, Suriname in Bradenton, Fla., and suburban Chicago, respectively
Canada will play World Cup qualifying matches next month against Aruba and Suriname in Bradenton, Fla., and suburban Chicago, respectively.
Travel restrictions due to the pandemic have forced Canada, ranked 70th in the world, and other some countries to find neutral sites to stage these games. The Canadian men's first qualifier, a 5-1 victory over Bermuda on March 26, took place in Orlando rather than a home venue north of the border.
The June 5 game is officially a home match for No. 205 Aruba but will be played at the IMG Academy in Bradenton instead. The June 8 match against No. 136 Suriname, which will likely decide who advances from CONCACAF Group B, is a Canadian home match but will be played at SeatGeek Stadium, formerly known as Toyota Stadium, in Bridgeview, Ill.
Top spot in Group B
Canada and Suriname both won their first two qualifying matches, but Canada occupies top spot in the group with a plus-15 goals difference compared to plus-nine for Suriname.
"We had hoped to play these matches at home with Canadian fans providing the support and momentum to play a tough nation like Suriname in FIFA World Cup qualifiers," Canada coach John Herdman said in a statement.
The Canadians played the 194th-ranked Cayman Islands in Bradenton on March 29, romping to a record 11-0 win in what was scheduled as a home match for the Cayman Islands.
While the Canadian men have played and trained in Florida during the pandemic, the heat and humidity in the Sunshine State in June is punishing. Plus Chicago has the advantage of being an easy city to access internationally.
No quarantine issues
On the plus side, all three Canadian MLS teams are currently based in the U.S., meaning there will be no quarantine issues with games south of the border.
Suriname hosts No. 168 Bermuda on June 4 in Paramaribo before facing Canada.
Thirty CONCACAF teams are competing in the pandemic-delayed first round of World Cup qualifying, with the six group winners moving on to a second round of head-to-head knockout matches.
The winners of the three second-round playoffs join five other higher-ranked teams in the final round of eight, which will see the teams play each home and on the road.
Mexico (No. 11), the U.S. (No. 20), Jamaica (No. 45), Costa Rica (No. 50) and Honduras (No. 67) received byes directly to the so-called Octagonal.
The top three teams will qualify for Qatar 2022. The four-place finisher will take part in an intercontinental playoffs to see who joins them.
