Canada to host Iran for men's soccer friendly in Vancouver in June

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 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.