Canada’s second game in Concacaf qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar has been postponed.
The Canadians were to face the Cayman Islands on Sunday evening in Bradenton, Fla., but FIFA announced the suspension of the match. The game has been rescheduled for Monday, March 29 at 6:00 p.m. ET., pending COVID-19 protocols being met.
FIFA was informed that the Cayman Islands was not able to submit the required COVID-19 testing information ahead of Sunday’s game against Canada.
Canada Soccer said it supported the decision by FIFA to reschedule the match “in the absence of appropriate COVID-19 test results for the Cayman Islands.”
“Before each match, teams are required to provide FIFA a negative COVID-19 PCR test result for all players and staff taken no earlier than 72 hours prior to accessing the venue. No participant is permitted into the match venue without this negative test. Canada Soccer engaged a laboratory to be on-site with the team to conduct its testing and all Canada Soccer staff and players have received negative testing prior to arriving and while in camp in Florida,” Canada Soccer said in a statement.
John Herdman's reaction to the news of #CANMNT's #WCQ match v the Cayman Islands being rescheduled to Monday 29 March at 6PM ET / 3PM PT.
"There was initially some disappointment but now we're on to the next task." pic.twitter.com/NtkLLldV7O
— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) March 28, 2021
Canada won in its opening contest of the Concacaf qualifiers by earning a 5-1 decision over Bermuda on Friday in Orlando. Clye Larin netted a hat trick in that game, and was set up by Alphonso Davies on all three goals.
With three points, Canada sits second in Group B behind Suriname, who has six points from two wins. Cayman Islands, Bermuda and Aruba are at the bottom of the group table with zero points.
Sunday was supposed to mark the first meeting between Canada and the Caymans at senior level.
The Cayman Islands team is coached by Englishman Benjamin Pugh, with Caymanian centre-back Joshewa Frederick-Charlery (who plays in the country’s domestic league) serving as captain. The team finished second in its group of the 2019-2020 CONCACAF Nations League C.
Canada is 73rd in the current FIFA world rankings, well ahead of Suriname (No. 141), Bermuda (No. 169), the Cayman Islands (No. 193), and Aruba (No. 200). Canada’s final games of the first round are scheduled for June 5 (vs. Aruba) and June 8 (vs. Suriname).
The six group winners from this first round of Concacaf qualifying advance to the next stage. The top team in Group B will face the winner of Group E – which is made up of Haiti (No. 84), Nicaragua (No. 149), Belize (No. 170), St. Lucia (No. 175) and Turks and Caicos Islands (No. 203) – in a home-and-away playoff in June.
The three winners of the second-round matchups move on to the final round of Concacaf qualifying, joining Mexico (No. 9), the U.S. (No. 22), Jamaica (No. 47), Costa Rica (No. 50) and Honduras (No. 64). The eight nations will play each other home and away, with the top three automatically qualifying for the World Cup. The fourth-place nation will play in an intercontinental playoff for a chance to go to Qatar.
Canada’s lone World Cup appearance came in Mexico in 1986 when it bowed out after failing to score in group-stage losses to France, the Soviet Union and Hungary. David Norman Sr, the father of current Cavalry FC midfielder David Norman Jr., was a member of Canada’s 1986 World Cup. Canada is scheduled to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup with Mexico and the U.S.