Canada’s World Cup homecoming: CANMNT faces Chile, Peru and USA in fall friendlies

Photo by Canada Soccer (CS)

TORONTO — Canada's men are coming home.

Fresh off the best World Cup run in program history, Jesse Marsch's side opens the first camp of the 2030 cycle with a three-game fall slate Canada Soccer has dubbed The Homecoming. Chile visits BMO Field in Toronto on Saturday, Sept. 26. Peru comes to Stade Saputo in Montreal on Saturday, Oct. 3. Then it's the rivalry game: the United States at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Tuesday, Oct. 6.

This is the first time the group has been together since the summer that changed everything. Canada drew 1-1 with Bosnia-Herzegovina for its first ever World Cup point, routed Qatar 6-0 behind a Jonathan David hat trick for its first ever World Cup win, and finished second in Group B. Then came the real breakthrough: a stoppage-time winner from Stephen Eustaquio to beat South Africa 1-0 in the round of 32, the country's first knockout victory at a men's World Cup. Morocco ended the run 3-0 in the round of 16, and Canada finished 14th, ahead of Germany, the Netherlands and Croatia.

Seventeen players from that squad are back for this window, including ten from MLS. The notable absences: captain Alphonso Davies is on his honeymoon after marrying Sheyenne Jen in July, goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau misses camp for a personal matter, and centre back Moise Bombito is out after another surgery on his left tibia. Inter Miami's Dayne St. Clair steps in between the posts, and veteran Samuel Piette, now at 69 caps, brings the experience.

"The momentum we've created for this sport in the country over the past few months has been incredible," Marsch said. "We couldn't have done it without our fans, and these matches are a chance to say thank you and continue to build on what we achieved at the World Cup. We hope to see Canadians celebrate this team with a hero's welcome and show up in numbers this fall."

Kickoffs are 7 p.m. ET in Toronto, 2 p.m. ET in Montreal and 8 p.m. ET in St. Paul. All three are on TSN and RDS.

The celebration matters. So does the soccer. This is where the next cycle starts, and the standard Marsch set this summer means friendlies don't feel quite so friendly anymore.