Toronto (Canada), Sep 22 (EFE).- Canada faces the Qatar team this Friday in Vienna (Austria) in a friendly match that will serve the North American team to continue their preparation for the World Cup which will will be played between November and December.

Canada has two friendly matches scheduled for the World Cup in September: the first this Friday against the team of Qatar and September 28, in Bratislava (Slovakia), against Uruguay.

Friday’s match is the first Canada will play outside of North America since winning the Concacaf Octagon earlier this year and qualifying for a World Cup for the first time since Mexico City 1986. .

In fact, the game against Qatar will be Canada’s first in Europe since March 2018.

Qatar sits 48th in the standings, five places behind Canada.

Canada coach John Herdman says matches against Qatar and Uruguay will give his players “the opportunity to practice our processes and systems on and off the pitch” with the three-day cadence between matches they will have during the World Cup. .

The main news for Canada is that they will play both friendlies without one of the team’s stars, Jonathan Osorio, 30, who suffers from undetermined “neurological” problems.

Although Osorio was announced on September 16 as one of the players available for Herdman, on Wednesday the Canadian soccer federation, Canada Soccer, announced his withdrawal.

Osorio, a Herdman roster regular, has missed his team Toronto FC’s last five MLS games.

The player has been struggling since suffering an elbow to the head on July 13.

Another of Herdman’s fundamental players, 39-year-old veteran Atiba Hutchinson, also injured, will also not be in Vienna.

The absences of Osorio and Hutchinson mean Canada’s captain against Qatar will be 32-year-old David (Junior) Hoilett.

Defender Doneil Henry, although he will travel to Vienna, is uncertain in the line-up as he suffers from leg discomfort.

Winger Tajon Buchanan, who has just recovered from injury, doesn’t seem destined to play against Qatar or Uruguay either.

Possible combinations:

Canada: Milan Borjan; Alphonso Davies, Alistair Johnston, Kamal Miller, Samuel Adekugbe; Ismael Koné, Mark-Anthony Kaye, Stephen Eustaquio, Lucas Cavallini; Jonathan David and Junior Hoilett.

Coach: John Herdman.

Qatar: Meshaal Barsham; Boualem Khoukhi, Tarek Salman, Homam Ahmed, Ismaeel Mohammad, MW Abdulwahhab; Abdulaziz Hatem, Abudllah Abdulsalam, Assim Madibo; Akram Afif and Almoez Ali.

Coach: Felix Sanchez.

Stadium: Viola Park, Vienna, Austria.

Time: 5:00 p.m. GMT.