Preview: Canada vs Tunisia - prediction, team news, lineups

Canada and Tunisia continue their preparations for the upcoming World Cup when they square off in an international friendly at BMO Field on Wednesday morning.

The World Cup co-hosts are unbeaten in five straight games since a 1-0 loss against Australia in June 2025, while the North African giants will be out to secure back-to-back victories since their poor outing in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Match preview

Canada turned in a fine show of fighting spirit in their second outing of the year on Saturday when they overturned a two-goal first-half deficit to salvage a 2-2 draw against Iceland when the two sides met in a friendly at BMO Field.

Real Sociedad striker Orri Steinn Oskarsson struck twice in a 12-minute spell to put Iceland two goals up heading into the half-time break, but Juventus’ man Jonathan David converted two second-half penalties to force a share of the spoils.

With the World Cup just three months away, Canada can take pride in their preparations so far, having picked up four wins and three draws from eight friendly games since their shock quarter-final defeat against Guatemala in the CONCACAF Gold Cup back in June 2025.

Jesse Marsch’s men, who are unbeaten in five straight matches, will follow Wednesday’s tie with a clash with Uzbekistan in their final warm-up game at BMO Field on June 2, 10 days before kicking off their World Cup campaign against the winner of the playoff tie between Italy and Bosnia & Herzegovina.

© Iconsport / GSI

On the other hand, Tunisia kicked the final stretch of their preparations for the 2026 World Cup on a positive note, as they held on to see out a 1-0 victory over Haiti when the two nations met in their first outing of the year on Sunday morning.

Celtic midfielder Sebastian Tounekti struck on the seventh-minute mark to put the North African giants in front at BMO Field before they held on to repel Haiti and end their run of three consecutive matches without a win.

This followed another disappointing outing in the Africa Cup of Nations, where Tunisia suffered a round-of-16 exit at the hands of Mali on January 3, two years on from their shock elimination in the group stages.

Having managed just two points from three games in 2023 to finish rock-bottom in Group E, Sabri Lamouchi’s men finished with four points to clinch second place in Group C back in December before losing to Mali on penalties after a 1-1 stalemate over 120 minutes.

Tunisia will now look to keep the juggernaut rolling as they ramp up preparations for the World Cup, where they have been drawn in Group F, alongside Netherlands, Japan and the winner of the playoff tie between Sweden and Poland.

Canada International Friendlies form:

Tunisia International Friendlies form:

Tunisia form (all competitions):

Team News

Villarreal midfielder Tajon Buchanan picked up a straight red card for violent conduct against Iceland last time out and the 27-year-old will play no part in Tuesday’s tie for Canada.

Stephen Eustaquio and Promise David also missed the game against Iceland last time out through hematoma and hip injuries respectively, and are also out of contention for Marsch’s men.

Other notable absentees for Canada include captain Alphonso Davies, who is ruled out through a torn ACL, Celtic defender Alistair Johnston (hamstring) and Moise Bombito, who has been ruled out through a fractured tibia.

Off the back of a solid defensive display against Haiti, Lamouchi could name an unchanged Tunisia back four on Tuesday, with Amine Ben Hmida, Mortadha Ben Ouanes, Adem Arous and Ghaith Zaalouni retaining their roles in defence.

Tounekti opened his account for the national team with his strike on Sunday, and the Celtic forward could be rewarded with another starting role, while the Bundesliga-based duo of Ellyes Skhiri and Rani Khedira should team up at the centre of the park.

Canada possible starting lineup:

Clair; Sigur, Waterman, Miller, Laryea; Flores, N. Saliba, Choiniere, Ahmed; Oluwaseyi, David

Tunisia possible starting lineup:

Hessen; Ben Hmida, B. Ouanes, Arous, Zaalouni; Gharbi, Skhiri, R. Khedira; Tounekti, Elloumi, Ayari

We say: Canada 2-1 Tunisia

Despite several key players missing, Canada dug deep to salvage a draw against Iceland last time out and will head into the midweek tie in high spirits as they look to keep the ball rolling. Tunisia could prove a tricky challenge for Marsch’s men, but we are backing them to make the most of their home supporters and come away with a narrow victory.

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