Canadian men's soccer team complete 2025 schedule with November friendly vs. Venezuela
Canada coach Jesse Marsch has filled the last empty slot on his team's schedule this year with a neutral-site date with No. 46 Venezuela in the November international window.
The 28th-ranked Canadian men will face the South American side Nov. 18 at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, the home of Inter Miami.
Canada defeated Venezuela in a penalty shootout, following a 1-1 draw, the last time they met in quarterfinal action at Copa America last summer.
The previous two meetings ended in draws in Venezuela — 1-1 in May 2010 in Merida and 2-2 in June 2007 in Maracaibo.
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"The quarterfinal win over Venezuela at the 2024 Copa America was a landmark moment for our program and something our players, staff, and supporters will never forget," Marsch said in a statement. "Venezuela is a quality team and will be eager for the rematch. This friendly gives us another chance to measure ourselves against a challenging opponent."
Venezuela's World Cup hopes were dashed Tuesday in a 6-3 home loss to No. 14 Colombia, which, coupled with No. 78 Bolivia's 1-0 win over No. 5 Brazil, meant Bolivia finishes (6-10-2, 20 points) seventh in the CONMEBOL standings and advances to FIFA's six-team intercontinental playoff.
Venezuela (4-8-6, 18 points) finishes out of luck in eighth place in the 10-team table. It remains the only CONMEBOL team never to have qualified for a World Cup.
The top CONMEBOL six finishers — Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia, Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay — receive automatic World Cup berths.
In the wake of recent 3-0 and 1-0 wins over No. 48 Romania and No. 31 Wales in the September international window, the Canadian men are 6-1-3 this year, with two of those draws turning into shootout losses (to No. 45 Ivory Coast in the Canadian Shield tournament and No. 100 Guatemala in the Gold Cup).
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Up next for Canada are No. 24 Australia on Oct. 10 at Montreal's Saputo Stadium and Colombia on Oct. 14 in Harrison, N.J. on Oct. 10.
The Canadians will open the last FIFA international window of the year with a Nov. 13 game against No. 25 Ecuador at Toronto's BMO Field.
The 2025 schedule has provided a varied menu of opponents. Six of Canada's 14 matches this year have been against CONCACAF opposition, with three against European teams, three against South American sides and one African and one Asian team.
cbc.ca
