The road to the CONCACAF Nations League goes through Toronto for Canada's men's national soccer team.
On Tuesday, Canada Soccer announced that the Oct. 16 fixture between Canada and Dominica will take place at BMO Field. The contest falls on the second qualifying matchday for the inaugural CONCACAF Nations League, which kicks off across the region in late 2019. Prior to the Toronto date, the Canadians will take on the U.S. Virgin Islands in a road match on Sept. 9 — rumoured to be played in Florida due to insufficient facilities in the Caribbean nation.
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The final two matchdays are scheduled for Nov. 18 (at St. Kitts & Nevis) and at home vs. French Guiana in March 2019. The top six teams of the 34-nation qualification round will advance to the CONCACAF Nations League and the 2018 Gold Cup, along with Mexico, United States, Costa Rica, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and Honduras.
Canada head coach John Herdman, who took over the men's program this year after a successful stint at the helm of the women's team, considers the Nations League qualifiers as the first steps toward the 2022 World Cup.
“We know that as a country, we can strive to be the best in CONCACAF,” Herdman said in a statement. “We know that these matches are going to be very important as they count towards CONCACAF Nations League, CONCACAF Gold Cup, and eventually FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. There is a real opportunity within this competition to enhance our skills within CONCACAF so that we can build that resilience for when it really matters.”
The October match is set to be Herdman's first home game as men's head coach. In Herdman's debut with the team on March 24, Canada defeated New Zealand 1-0 in a neutral-site friendly in Spain.