It looks as though Canada will be getting another warm-up match against a Central American opponent in the near future.
According to the websites of both FIFA and CONCACAF, Benito Floro’s team will be playing a friendly against Guatemala on March 26 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. While the match has yet to be officially announced by the Canadian Soccer Association, the date does fall during a FIFA international window, and this opponent and venue would fit into recent patterns established by the Canadian program.
Canada’s last two matches were against Iceland in January – a pair of friendlies played in Orlando, in which Canada collected a 2-1 loss and a 1-1 draw. Prior to that, Floro’s squad traveled to Panama City on Nov. 18 and escaped with a 0-0 draw, Canada’s first result on the road in Central America in nearly a decade.
Those January friendlies fell on non-FIFA dates, leading Floro to utilize a squad mostly made up of young and North American-based players. But with European-based players available and the MLS season just ramping up during the March window, Floro will likely turn to a much different looking squad than he did against Iceland.
He will be looking to find the right mix of players ahead of crucial games for the national team this summer, with World Cup qualifying beginning in June and a big CONCACAF Gold Cup (one in which Toronto will have partial hosting duties) taking place in July.
