Canada's Stephen Eustáquio (7) applauds after his team's win over South Africa in the World Cup's round of 32, in Los Angeles last month.FRANK GUNN/The Canadian Press
Canada’s men’s soccer team will look to celebrate its World Cup run when it returns home for two friendlies against Chile and Peru later this year, in what head coach Jesse Marsch hopes will be a “hero’s welcome”.
Canada will host Chile in Toronto on Sept. 26 before travelling to Montreal to face Peru on Oct. 3, the countries’ soccer federations announced on Wednesday.
The friendlies mark Canada’s homecoming after a historic showing at the World Cup which saw it win its first game at the men’s tournament, a 6-0 romp against Qatar, and advance to the knockout stage for the first time.
“The momentum we’ve created for this sport in the country over the past few months has been incredible,” Marsch said in a statement.
“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.”
Canada drew 1-1 with Bosnia in its opening match of the expanded tournament, earning its first points at a men’s World Cup.
Its dominant 6-0 victory over Qatar was followed by a 2-1 loss to Switzerland, giving it a second-place finish in Group B to secure a knockout-round berth for the first time.
The Canadians earned a late 1-0 victory over South Africa in the round of 32 before losing 3-0 to Morocco in the round of 16.