The Canadian Shield soccer tournament is a FIFA preview. Can Toronto handle it?

Call it Toronto’s World Cup vibe check. With just over a year to go before the FIFA World Cup descends on the city—cue the traffic, the fanfare and the inevitable How much for a hotel room? sticker shock—BMO Field is about to get a preview of the madness.

The Canadian Shield is a brand-new World Cup–adjacent tournament that’s all about celebrating the beautiful game, securing bragging rights and, most importantly, making sure Toronto can handle the six World Cup matches we’ll be hosting next summer without descending into chaos.

Related: Meet Jade Kovacevic, AFC Toronto’s not-so-secret weapon

The basis of the tournament is as follows: four national teams (Canada, Ukraine, Côte d’Ivoire and New Zealand) will descend on Exhibition Place for two days of doubleheaders on June 7 and 10. The format is totally un-Canadian—no polite draws allowed. If a match is tied after 90 minutes, it will go straight to penalties.

The points system is intricate: three points for a win, two points for a shootout win, one point for a shootout loss and zero points for a full-time loss. Whoever has the most points after two matches will lift the shiny new trophy and be named the first Canadian Shield champions.

Related: Soccer star Quinn on how Canada’s women’s team plans to defend their gold medal

For the Canadian men’s team, it’s a rare chance to play world-class opponents on home turf. For fans, it’s an opportunity to see international talent without having to mortgage their condos for a World Cup ticket. Those hoping to catch Alphonso Davies in action, however, will have to settle for highlight reels—he’s out with an injury.

City officials and Canada Soccer are treating the tournament as a sneak peek into the beautiful mayhem coming our way in 2026: transit, security, crowd engagement (and control), and overpriced concessions. If all goes well, Toronto and the men’s team can breathe a sigh of relief. If not, thankfully, there are still 370 days to panic and prepare.

Canada’s first game is against Ukraine this Saturday, June 7, at 3:30 p.m.