Canadian men fall to Australia in soccer friendly in Montreal

The Canadian men's soccer team played their first game in Montreal since 2017, but it was not the expected homecoming, losing 1-0 to Australia on Friday night at Stade Saputo.

Nestory Irankunda's winner extended Australia's unbeaten run to 12 games, having lost just once since March 21, 2024.

"I think we managed [the game] well. Unfortunately, we made a little mistake, but we're going to learn from this," said Mathieu Choiniere who was one of the many Montreal-born players playing in his hometown for the first time ever as a member of the national team.

"I think overall we were the better team, and we created a lot of chances, we could have scored two or three goals, but (...) we're going to keep branding."

Australia downs Canada in Montreal friendly

The game only needed three minutes for controversy to rear its head. Tajon Buchanan got on the end of a ball in behind the Australian back line and was taken down in the penalty area, but the referee waved play on.

As play continued, Australia dropped into a conservative 5-4-1 formation, getting as many players behind the ball as possible. They challenged Canada to break down a particularly resolute low block and managed to frustrate Canada while conceding large amounts of possession.

"We needed to be a little bit sharper in some of the final third moments and maybe if we're a little bit luckier in a couple little moments that we can come away with something," said Canadian head coach Jesse Marsch. "For me, the ideas were good. The connections on the pitch and the way that we tried to find space and test them behind their back line was good."

The 30-minute mark brought the first clear cut chance as Ismael Kone took off on a mazey run through the Australian defence. After a