Canada shut out by Australia in Montreal friendly
The Canadian men’s team’s attack sputtered against the Socceroos in Friday’s match at Stade Saputo.
- Canada 0, Australia 1 (Irankunda 71’)
- Canadians suffer 1st loss in 3 games since the Gold Cup
- Liam Millar makes 1st appearance in a year after injury layoff
MONTREAL – Winning friendlies against lower-ranked European teams is one thing. Winning games against a World Cup-bound nation is quite another.
The Canadian men’s team received a small taste of what to expect at next summer’s home FIFA World Cup in Friday’s 1-0 loss to Australia before a sellout crowd of 19,619 at Stade Saputo that included Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
Canada was coming off road wins over Romania and Wales in last month’s international window but found the going much tougher in this friendly versus Australia who sit one spot above Les Rouges in the current FIFA world rankings at No. 26.
Australia entered this contest riding a six-game winning streak and an 11-match unbeaten run dating back to its previous loss on Sept. 5, 2024, and clinched its six consecutive World Cup berth in June.
