{"id":69697,"date":"2026-06-01T14:47:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T14:47:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/69697\/"},"modified":"2026-06-01T14:47:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T14:47:14","slug":"edmonton-soccer-friendly-a-chance-for-team-canada-to-find-its-groove-ahead-of-world-cup-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/69697\/","title":{"rendered":"Edmonton soccer friendly a chance for Team Canada to find its groove ahead of World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tens of thousands of fans will pack into Commonwealth Stadium on Monday to watch Team Canada duke it out against Uzbekistan in a friendly soccer game<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The game, part of the Canadian men\u2019s national team\u2019s “Send-Off Series,” comes before the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is set to see the first-ever men\u2019s tournament matches played on Canadian soil in Vancouver and Toronto.<\/p>\n

Despite Environment Canada forecasting 10 to 20 millimeters of rain to fall on Monday, national team coach Jesse Marsch said the team is ready to play \u2014 and pivot \u2014 even if \u201cthe pitch is a little bit soggy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’ll be ready to adjust to the elements,\u201d Marsch told reporters at a news conference on Sunday. \u201cWe’re excited to be here in Edmonton. We know there’ll be a big crowd.\u201d<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t the first time the Canadian men would have to play in inclement weather.<\/p>\n

Just over four years ago, the team qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup at Commonwealth Stadium after winning against Mexico, while in the snow, allowing fans to dub the game, \u201cIceteca.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marsch said those memories are a big reason the team is back in Edmonton.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur captain, our best player\u2019s from here. \u2026 So I ask that everybody just comes out and loves this team,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re ready to put on a performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Canada<\/p>\n

Canada men’s national team coach Jesse Marsch speaks to reporters on May 31. He says the friendly match against Uzbekistan is a great opportunity to practice ahead of the World Cup. (Bob Grieve\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Monday\u2019s exhibition game is a chance for the Canadian team to find its groove, even without the help of hometown hero and captain Alphonso Davies, Marsch said.<\/p>\n

Davies will be missing from the pitch because of a hamstring injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt a moment like this \u2014 even if they’re only playing 45 minutes and it’s friendly \u2014 that each guy has to be at his maximum and be ready,\u201d he said. \u201cThose are the best things to do to set us up for success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davies, who is on the team\u2019s roster for the World Cup tournament, is not yet ready to suit up for Monday and will instead be present to cheer on the team, Marsch said, noting the superstar captain is a \u201cdifference-maker\u201d for the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe minute he walks in the room, everyone’s gonna be psyched to see him,\u201d Marsch said. \u201cHe brings energy. He’s excited to always be here and he’s part of us, man. He’s a big part of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fans welcome Uzbek team at airport<\/p>\n

The Uzbekistan national team received a warm welcome from Edmonton\u2019s Central Asian community after flying into the city on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Sasha Raimova, the president of the Uzbek Canadian Association, said she is excited for the World Cup, which boasts Uzbekistan\u2019s first-ever tournament appearance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are all so excited,\u201d she said, noting this is the first time the team is playing a soccer match in Canada.<\/p>\n

Abbosbek Fayzullaev, who was among the Uzbekistani players who landed in Canada, said he’s eager to get on the pitch against Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will be very good preparation for us and we are very pleased our fans come to the airport to see us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s giving good vibes for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Games comes after city loses World Cup host bid\u00a0<\/p>\n

Edmonton put up a bid to host the 2026 World Cup, but eventually lost to Toronto and Vancouver.<\/p>\n

In a news release on Friday, Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack said hosting the friendly match shows \u201cEdmonton\u2019s ability to deliver major sporting events.\u201d<\/p>\n

The game will create \u201can incredible experience for fans,\u201d both from Edmonton and elsewhere, Knack said.<\/p>\n

Ticket costs for the World Cup games have been steep, but some members of Edmonton\u2019s soccer community say the friendly game is giving them a taste of World Cup festivities, at a fraction of the cost.<\/p>\n

LISTEN | Edmontonians celebrate friendly soccer match:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn’t cheap, but it’s a lot cheaper than flying to Toronto or Vancouver and going to a game there,\u201d said Johanna Knettig, an Edmontonian who bought tickets to Monday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

\u201cTravelling to go see a World Cup game is something that’s pretty lucrative. We’re super fortunate that Team Canada is coming here right before the World Cup,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

As of Wednesday, thousands of face-value tickets starting at over $1,000 are still available<\/a> for matches in Toronto, including for those where Canada plays. The most expensive available ticket for the friendly in Edmonton, as of Sunday, is just over $190.<\/p>\n

Tim Kasper, the manager of event attraction with Explore Edmonton, told CBC News that he anticipated Monday\u2019s game to be one of the most well-attended soccer matches in Commonwealth Stadium\u2019s history, with more than 50,000 people expected to attend.<\/p>\n

Commonwealth Stadium has been the site of previous FIFA events, including the 2015 Women\u2019s World Cup, the 2014 Under-20 Women\u2019s World Cup and the 2007 Under-20 World Cup. It also served as the location for a friendly World Cup warm-up match in 1994 where Canada and eventual FIFA champions Brazil went 1-1.<\/p>\n

Explore Edmonton estimated the friendly game will drive upward of $20 million into the local economy.<\/p>\n

Playing a game in Edmonton was a deliberate choice to ensure more people get to be involved in the upcoming soccer festivities, Marsch said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve been calling [the team] the people’s team,\u201d Marsch said. \u201cTo do that, I think we really need to be in every market that we can possibly be in.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Monday\u2019s game, Team Canada will make a stop in Montreal for a friendly game against the Republic of Ireland, before starting its World Cup run on June 12 in Toronto against Bosnia and Herzegovina.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tens of thousands of fans will pack into Commonwealth Stadium on Monday to watch Team Canada duke it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":69698,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[28969,16174,3519,17,19114,52,1113,7134,28967,6599,388,2019,48,27300,28968,3543],"class_list":["post-69697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-edmonton","tag-abbosbek-fayzullaev","tag-alphonso-davies","tag-brazil","tag-canada","tag-commonwealth-stadium","tag-edmonton","tag-environment-canada","tag-explore-edmonton","tag-friendly-match","tag-jesse-marsch","tag-mexico","tag-team-canada","tag-toronto","tag-uzbekistan","tag-uzbekistan-national-team","tag-world-cup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69697"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69697\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}