Canada's friendlies will test John Herdman's managerial mettle

International windows featuring high-profile friendlies come and go, but September’s window just might be the most important in the history of the Canadian men’s team.

Idle since June when it played a pair of Concacaf Nations League matches, Canada returns to action when it meets Qatar in Vienna on Friday in the first of two friendlies this month. The Reds will also meet Uruguay on Sept. 27 in Bratislava, Slovakia.

This isn’t the Canadian team’s last chance to get together and prepare before travelling to Qatar for the World Cup. That will come in two months' time when the Reds face Japan on Nov. 17 in Dubai in their final World Cup warmup match.

But September’s window does offer a glimpse of the stiff challenges that coach John Herdman faces ahead of Canada’s return to the World Cup for the first time since 1986.