WORLD Cup host Canada will play their final warm-up game before the greatest show on earth kicks off next week when they meet Ireland in Montreal later today, then one day later on Saturday, Portugal take on a Chile side still reeling from not qualifying for the tournament.

Event # 1 – INT FRI – Canada vs Ireland – 6:30 PM

While Canada is warming up for the long-awaited home tournament, Ireland agonisingly missed out on qualification and must now look to the future. Indeed, one week away from kicking off their group B campaign against Bosnia, World Cup 2026 co-hosts Canada will wrap up their preparation with a final friendly. With that said, Canada will be making their third appearance at the World Cup, and their first task will be to pick up a point – as they have lost each World Cup matches, they have played in so far. However, they are entering this game unbeaten in their last seven overall matches including a 2-0 win over fellow World Cup bound Uzbekistan earlier this week. During this seven-match unbeaten run, the Canadians have kept six clean sheets which they will be aiming to maintain against Bosnia.

Still trying to put the disappointment of missing out on World Cup qualification behind them, the Republic of Ireland is set to play the third of three scheduled friendlies. After historic wins over Portugal and Hungary kept their dreams alive of making it to the World Cup, Ireland then let a two-goal lead slip in their playoff semi-finals against the Czech Republic and eventually lost on penalties. They warmed up for this match by winning their previous two friendlies by beating Grenada 5-0 then edged World Cup-bound Qatar 1-0, extending their unbeaten run to seven matches. This recent sequence represents Ireland’s best run since 2022.

Key Stats

• Canada has gone on a seven-match unbeaten run and is unbeaten at home in their last five matches.

• Ireland arrives in Canada unbeaten in their last five matches.

• Both sides – Ireland and Canada have only ever played each other once, in an international friendly in 2002, with the Irish winning 3-0 back then.

The betting tip: Canada win.

Event # INT FRI – Portugal vs Chile – 12 :45 PM

Portugal continue their build up for the upcoming 2026 World Cup when they face Chile in their penultimate warm-up match, while Chile travel to Lisbon to face the host looking to prove a point after a disappointing World Cup campaign that saw them missing out on qualification. With that said, Portugal qualified for the World Cup in style, battering minnows Armenia 9-1 in Porto, but in their two friendlies played in March, they struggled against Mexico in a tame nil all draw before beating the USA 2-0 in Atalanta. The Portuguese will take confidence from the fact that they didn’t concede a single goal in the two friendlies and will be confident of maintaining their unbeaten run against a Chile side that is still had failed to score a single goal in their final six world Cup qualifiers.

Chile had what can only be described as a disastrous World Cup campaign, finishing at the bottom of the table in South America, having won just twice in 18 matches, scoring nine goals with a whopping 27 conceded. However, Chile will still have memories of the last time both nations met in the Confederation Cup back in 2017, they emerged with a 3-0 penalty shootout win but repeating that result seems extremely unlike when both teams collide in Libson. Following their dismal and embarrassing bottom-placed finish in South American World Cup qualifying shows just how far Chile have fallen since those glory days under then coach Jorge Sampaoli. With that said, Confidence might be at an all-time low for the Chileans ahead of this game as they were 2-0 down at half-time in their previous friendly before ending losing 4-1 to a poor New Zealand side, confirming how far they have fallen.

Key Stats

• Portugal has kept clean sheets in each of their last three friendlies and have lost just one of their last eleven matches.

• Chile has failed to keep a clean sheet in their last six World Cup qualifiers and have failed to score in eight of their last ten away matches.

• Both sides – Chile has lost four of their last five away matches in all competitions. However, Portugal have never lost a match against Chile in regulation time.

The betting tip: Portugal win.