The Canadian national team will not be participating in this summer's Copa America Centenario but that does not mean that they will not be playing any games.
On Friday, Canada Soccer confirmed that they will be heading to Austria on June 7 to face Uzbekistan in a friendly. The game will take a place after a previously confirmed` friendly between Canada and Azerbaijan on June 3. Both matches come during the June FIFA window.
This will be Canada's first opportunity to meet either Azerbaijan or Uzbekistan at the international level. Azerbaijan ranks in the middle of UEFA's 54 nations, with their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers to commence in September. Uzbekistan, meanwhile, are one of Asia's top-10 nations and recently won their group to reach Asia's final 12 in World Cup qualifiers.
"We consider both matches will provide us with a very good test for our players," said Benito Floro, Canada's head coach. "This camp in Europe will be important because it will give us the opportunity to create positive methods within our team as we prepare for our September matches."
Canada are currently in the midst of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, as they are currently third in their semifinal round group. They will return to qualifying in September when they finish off the semifinal round away at Honduras and home vs. El Salvador.
