Canada Soccer announced this week the men’s national team will play two high-profile international friendlies against Romania and Wales in September.
Canada will play Romania in Bucharest Friday Sept. 5 before traveling to Swansea to play Wales Tuesday, Sept. 9.
Romania match follows Euro success
Romania recently performed well at Euro 2024, topping their first-stage group above Belgium, Slovakia and Ukraine. The Carpathian country eventually lost to Netherlands in the round of 16.
Romania’s squad features Tottenham Hotspur defender Radu Drǎgușin, Rangers midfielder Ianis Hagi, Cagliari midfielder Rǎzvan Marin and Parma forward Dennis Man.
“Romania are a really strong team that finished top of a difficult group at Euro 2024,” said Canada coach Jesse Marsch, via a statement Tuesday. “It will be yet another important challenge for our team on the road to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.”
Canada to face Premier League and Championship quality
Wales recently earned promotion to the UEFA Nations League A, winning their League B group with Turkey, Iceland and Montenegro.
“We’re excited to be playing another high-quality opponent in Wales in September,” said Marsch Wednesday. “Most of their players are playing in the Premier League and Championship which will make for an excellent test for our group.”
Before the European friendlies, Canada is slated to play in the Concacaf Nations League Finals in March before competing in the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup in June and July.
