Canada's Next World Cup Qualifier Will Be Played At IMG Academy

BRADENTON, FL — Vying for a place in the 2020 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the Canadian men’s national team will play its next qualifying game for the tournament against Aruba June 5, 8 p.m., at IMG Academy in Bradenton.

This match at IMG, an elite sports academy, is the first of two World Cup qualifying games in the United States, according to a news release from the Canadian Soccer Association. The men’s team will face off against Suriname June 8 at SeatGeek Stadium, home of Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire and National Women’s Soccer League’s Chicago Red Stars, in Bridgeview, Illinois.

These are Canada’s last two of four matches in the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) Group B from which only one nation in each group will advance beyond the next round, the CSA said.

Like what you're reading? Invite a friend to subscribe to free Bradenton newsletters and real-time email alerts.

Both matches will be broadcast live in Canada on OneSoccer.

Canada and Suriname are currently the top two teams in Group B with a perfect six points from their two matches in March. With a plus-15 goal difference - compared to Suriname’s plus-nine - Canada currently tops the group, the CSA said. Bermuda is next with three points while Aruba and Cayman Islands were both winless in March.

In all, 30 Concacaf nations are competing in this first round with six group winners advancing to a second round of head-to-head knockout matches.

From the first round of World Cup qualifiers, the Group B winner will face the Group E winner in a second-round, head-to-head series on June 12 and 15, the CSA said. The winner from that second round then advances to the Concacaf final round of eight nations in which each nation will play each opponent twice (once at home and once on the road).