Canada to face El Salvador in Men’s International Friendly
The 2017 international match will pit the two CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter-finalists against each other on Sunday 8 October.
The October match follows Canada’s recent 2:0 victory over Jamaica on Saturday 2 September in Toronto. Anthony Jackson-Hamel and Jonathan Osorio were the goalscorers while Junior Hoilett earned Man of the Match honours in front of 21,724 fans at BMO Field.
“This is a very timely match for us as El Salvador and Jamaica’s levels are comparable to our level at the international stage,” said Octavio Zambrano, Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team Head Coach. “Like us, they had a good showing at the CONCACAF Gold Cup, so we now need to demonstrate that we can be better than them.”
Canada and El Salvador have a long history of competition dating back 40 years through FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and the CONCACAF Gold Cup. In recent years, the two sides posted scoreless draws in a pair of 2015 matches before Canada won 3:1 over El Salvador in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in September 2016. Overall, Canada has the edge with 8 wins, 4 draws, and 4 losses in 16 international matches.
Coming out of the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Canada have a 2017 international record of four wins, three draws, and one loss in eight matches. El Salvador have a 2017 international record of three wins, three draws, and five losses in 11 international matches.
Canada are two-time CONCACAF champions, having won the CONCACAF Championship in 1985 and the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2000. In five matches under new head coach Octavio Zambrano, Canada’s international record is two wins, two draws, and one loss.