Canada to take to Romania in September FIFA window

While the Canadian men's team has some very big matches on the immediate horizon, Canada Soccer is thinking long-term ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The governing body announced on Tuesday that the men's side will face Romania in an international friendly during September's FIFA window. The match that is scheduled for Sept. 5 in Bucharest will be the first-ever meeting at senior team level between Canada and Romania.

Canada Soccer said it will announce on Wednesday a second friendly for that same window, which runs from Sept. 1-9. 

Canada is currently ranked No. 31 in the world, seven spots above Romania. Managed by Mircea Lucescu, the Romanians are currently riding a six-game winning streak dating back to their last loss, a 3-0 setback vs. the Netherlands in the round of 16 art Euro 2024.

Romania has participated in seven World Cups, reaching the quarter-finals in 1994, but hasn't qualified since the 1998 tournament in France. Of Romania's six appearances in the European Championship, its best showing came in 2000 when it exited at the quarter-finals.

Certainly, this isn't the toughest European opponent for Canada. But Romania is a talented side, featuring Tottenham defender Radu Drăgușin and Rangers midfielder Ianis Hagi, who should give the Canadians a stern test.

And that's exactly what Canada needs more of ahead of the 2026 World Cup – competitive games against European and South American nations. Only by playing these teams, rather than Concacaf opponents, will the Canadians develop and improve, giving themselves a much better chance of making a splash when they co-host the World Cup next summer.

Getting high-profile opponents on a consistent basis for the men's side has been a top priority for coach Jesse Marsch ever since he was hired last May.

"I've tried to paint this picture that we will need to fail, right? We will need it. You can't become a really strong, bulletproof team if you just win all the time, right? You need those tough moments to grow. We've had little challenges in there where our backs have been against the wall, and we've had to show up and show what we're about. We've had some of those, but not really big ones," Marsch recently told TFC Republic.

"And so, for me, this will still be part of our development this year. We're pursuing the absolute best opponents we possibly can play against. We're not pursuing opponents where we think we can get better with the ball and where we can dominate games. We're pursuing the best absolute opponents we can find. And so that will mean that we'll have these challenges, and I expect us to handle them well."

Of course, before Canada takes on Romania, there is the small matter of next month's Concacaf Nations League finals. Canada faces Mexico and the United States takes on Panama in the semifinals on March 2o. The winner will meet in the final three days later, while the losers will be paired off in the third-place match the same day. All games will be played at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

After that, Canada will turn its attention to the Concacaf Gold Cup, which runs from June 14 to July 6.

"In the end, we have big goals, but as I've said from the beginning is that all of this has the 2026 World Cup firmly in the crosshairs. And so, of course, do we think that the Gold Cup and the Nations League are important? Yes. Do we want to win those things? Yes, of course," Marsch said.

"But in the end, this will all be about how much can we accelerate our development as much as possible every second that we're together, so that no stone is left unturned for 2026. We are fixated entirely on how good can we be for that."

Canada's last match was a 3-0 win over Suriname on Nov. 19 at Toronto's BMO Field.

(Top photo courtesy of Canada Soccer)

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