Canada men's soccer team to play Ukraine and Ivory Coast in new tournament in Toronto

Neil Davidson · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Mar 19, 2025 1:29 PM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Canada volition play Ukraine and the Ivory Coast successful June astatine Toronto's BMO Field successful a caller four-team men's shot tourney called the Canadian Shield.

New Zealand is the different squad taking portion successful the event, which consists of doubleheaders June 7 and June 10.

Canada volition unfastened the tourney June 7 against Ukraine, with New Zealand taking connected the Ivory Coast successful the nightcap. On June 10, it's New Zealand versus Ukraine followed by Canada versus the Ivory Coast.

Tickets for each time volition supply entree to some games.

The contention serves arsenic an appetizer up of the 2026 World Cup, which Canada is co-hosting, portion offering apical absorption for the Canadian men.

Ukraine is presently ranked 25th successful the satellite portion Ivory Coast is No. 46 and New Zealand No. 89.

Canada, ranked 31st, has played Ukraine conscionable once, a 2-2 gully successful Kyiv successful an October 2010 friendly. It has ne'er faced Ivory Coast.

"Ukrainian assemblage successful Canada has ever supported our nationalist squad worldwide and present it is our crook to sojourn them," Andriy Shevchenko, president of the Ukrainian Association of Football, said successful a statement. "Canada is simply a beardown spouse of Ukraine and we are pleased to judge this invitation."

Shevchenko, a erstwhile prima guardant with Chelsea, AC Milan and Dynamo Kyiv who won 111 caps for Ukraine, played for Ukraine successful the 2010 crippled with Canada.

Ivory Coast manager Emerse Fae said the tourney volition "allow america to get a consciousness for the section conditions."

"We are utilized to playing against African teams, but this time, we volition person the accidental to trial ourselves against North American and Oceanian teams, who person a antithetic benignant of play," helium added successful a statement. "It's a fantastic accidental for our development."

New tourney volition beryllium an yearly event, MLSE says  

Toronto is scheduled to big six games astatine the 2026 World Cup, with Vancouver staging the different 7 slated for Canada.

"We each privation our Canadian nationalist squad to radiance connected the satellite stage," MLSE president and CEO Keith Pelley said successful an interview.

Pelley says MLSE plans to "create arsenic galore opportunities for the Canadian nationalist squad to vie against the world's champion football/soccer nations.

"We've not announced each of them but successful 2025, we volition person six games (at BMO Field) wherever Canada volition play nations ranked wrong the apical 100 successful the world, including 5 wrong the apical 50 and 2 wrong the apical 25."

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The Canadian Shield is the archetypal measurement down that path. MLSE says the tourney volition beryllium an yearly event, perchance with much teams successful the field.

There volition besides beryllium 2 Canadian women's games, yet to beryllium announced, astatine BMO Field this year.

Pelley, who is portion of the ownership radical of Birmingham City which presently tops England's third-tier League One, has besides said helium wants to bring much nine friendlies to BMO Field.

BMO Field is owned by the City of Toronto but managed by MLSE which owns the stadium's 2 large tenants — Major League Soccer's Toronto FC and the CFL's Argonauts

Coach Jesse Marsch and the Canadians are presently successful California preparing for Thursday's CONCACAF Nations League semifinal against No. 19 Mexico. The victor volition look either the 16th-ranked U.S. oregon No. 36 Panama successful the last with the loser dropping into the third-place game, besides Sunday.

The June lawsuit volition besides assistance Canada hole for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which runs June 14 and July 6 crossed 14 North American stadiums including Vancouver's B.C. Place.

"Every competitory lucifer from present until the World Cup volition beryllium captious to get our squad the mentation it needs up of welcoming the satellite adjacent year," Marsch said successful a statement. "This is an bonzer summation to our yearly competitory calendar and to beryllium capable to play astatine location successful beforehand of our fans again volition beryllium truly peculiar for our guys."

Ukraine, which celebrated its independency successful 1991, reached the quarterfinals of the 2006 World Cup wherever it was knocked retired by eventual champion Italy. Ivory Coast, which won its independency successful 1960, made it to the World Cup successful 2006, 2010 and 2104 but ne'er made it retired of the radical stage.

Canada took portion successful the 1986 and 2022 World Cups, besides failing to scope the knockout stage.

The Ukraine and Ivory Coast games adhd to a Canadian men's creation paper that besides includes No. 38 Romania and No. 29 Wales successful September.

The June tourney is being presented by MLSE, Sportfive and MIB Sport Agency successful concern with Canada Soccer.

Sportfive is an planetary athletics bureau whose office is successful Germany. MIB Sport Agency, based successful Dubai, specializes successful shot absorption services, including organizing tournaments.