Canadian men to face Japan in final warmup before FIFA World Cup

Canada will play Japan on Nov. 17 in Dubai in its final warmup game before the World Cup in Qatar.

The game is set for Al Maktoum Stadium in the United Arab Emirates. .

Drawn in Group F, the Canadian men are scheduled to open World Cup play on Nov. 23 against No. 2 Belgium while Japan kicks off Group E play the same day against Germany.

The Canadians then face No. 15 Croatia on Nov. 27 and No. 23 Morocco on Dec. 1.

"With an eight-week gap between our September matches (against Qatar and Uruguay) and our first match at the FIFA World Cup, it is important for our players to experience that level of international intensity with our pre-tournament match against Japan," Canada coach John Herdman said in a statement.

"Japan have consistently progressed from the group stage at recent FIFA World Cups, so it will be a good test for the group."

Japan, ranked 24th in the world, secured its berth in Qatar by virtue of finishing runner-up (at 7-2-1) to Saudi Arabia (7-1-2) in Group B of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) AFC qualifying.

It's Japan's seventh straight trip to the World Cup.

Canada, currently ranked 43rd, has lost both previous meetings with Japan — 2-1 in March 2013 in Doha and 3-0 in May 2011 in Niigata, Japan (in the Confederations Cup).

The Canadians are slated to meet Qatar on Sept. 23 at Generali Arena in Vienna, followed by a Sept. 27 game against Uruguay at Stadion Tehelne Pole in Bratislava, Slovakia. The Uruguay match was also originally scheduled for Vienna.

Uruguay is ranked 13th while Qatar, the reigning AFC Asian Cup champions, is No. 48.

Host Qatar will play in Group A at the World Cup, alongside Ecuador, Senegal and the Netherlands. Uruguay is in Group H with Portugal, Ghana and South Korea.

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