Germany, Belgium, and Croatia are set to compete in Canada during the group stage of the upcoming FIFA World Cup next summer. The detailed schedule for the expanded 48-team tournament comprising 104 matches was revealed in Washington D.C. on Saturday.
Canada is designated to hold a total of 13 matches, with seven taking place in Vancouver and six in Toronto. Among these, three games will be part of the knockout rounds. Notable matches in Toronto include Ghana versus Panama, Germany against Ivory Coast, Panama versus Croatia, and Senegal facing a playoff winner comprising Iraq, Bolivia, or Suriname. Vancouver will host Australia against a European playoff winner and New Zealand versus Egypt and Belgium.
This lineup indicates that spectators in Canada may witness top football stars such as Mo Salah from Egypt, Luka Modric from Croatia, and Joshua Kimmich from Germany. Ivory Coast has a history of playing in Toronto, where they previously defeated Canada in a penalty shootout during the Canadian Shield tournament on June 4.
Canada’s schedule as one of the co-hosts has been finalized following the draw on Friday. Ranked 27th globally, the Canadian team is set to host a European playoff team, including Italy, on June 12 in Toronto. Subsequently, they will travel to Vancouver to face Qatar on June 18 and Switzerland on June 24, both matches taking place at B.C. Place Stadium.
If the Canadian team emerges as the group winners, they will continue their journey in Vancouver for the round-of-32 game and potentially a round-of-16 clash. In case of a runner-up finish, Canada would meet the second-placed team from Group A in Mexico.
The scheduling of matches was influenced by stadium capacities, with major teams playing in large venues. Toronto’s BMO Field and Vancouver’s B.C. Place Stadium, both with a capacity of 54,000, were selected for marquee matchups, as they could not match the size of NFL stadiums.
Top teams like Spain, Argentina, France, England, and Brazil also have their matches scheduled at prominent venues across different cities in the tournament.