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Canada will host Iran in a men’s soccer friendly on June 5 in Vancouver.

The match is part of a two-game homestand at B.C. Place Stadium. The Canadian men will open CONCACAF Nations League A play there against Curacao on June 9 before closing out the FIFA international window with another CONCACAF Nations League game against Honduras in San Pedro Sula on June 13.

Canada, ranked 38th in the world, and No. 21 Iran are both preparing for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar this November.

Canada will play in Group F alongside Belgium, Croatia and Morocco while Iran is in Group B with England, the U.S. and a European playoff winner still to be decided.

The Vancouver matches are the first for Canada on home soil since qualifying for the World Cup in a 4-0 win over Jamaica at Toronto’s BMO Field on March 27. It also marks the Canadian men’s first visit to B.C. Place since March 2019 when they beat French Guiana 4-1 in CONCACAF Nations League qualifying.

The Canadians topped the final round of CONCACAF qualifying with an 8-2-4 record. Their last game was a 1-0 loss in Panama on March 30.

Canada has a 1-2-0 all-time record against Iran.

The Iran fixture is one of the few World Cup warm-ups for John Herdman’s team in advance of Qatar. Herdman has said he will look to take the team to Europe in the fall to play several more matches to prepare for Qatar.

Canada opens World Cup play Nov. 23 against No. 2 Belgium before facing No. 16 Croatia on Nov. 27 and No. 24 Morocco on Dec. 1.

Tottenham beats Arsenal 3-0 to tighten race for CL spot

LONDON – Tottenham revived its hopes of beating Arsenal to the final Champions League qualification position by overwhelming its fierce north London rival in a 3-0 win in the Premier League on Thursday. Harry Kane scored twice – including one from the penalty spot – and Son Heung-min added the other just after halftime to move Tottenham one point behind fourth-place Arsenal. There are two games remaining for each team and fifth-place Tottenham’s finish to the season looks easier than Arsenal’s. While Spurs face two of the bottom four in Burnley and already-relegated Norwich, Arsenal must travel to Newcastle before a home game against a resurgent Everton.

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