Wisconsin Soccer Central

Tosaint Ricketts (UW-Green Bay) and the Canadian national team are training in Austria ahead of friendlies against Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.

Canada, preparing for two crucial CONCACAF 2018 World Cup qualifiers in September, will play Azerbaijan at noon Friday in Rohrbach an der Lafnitz and takes on Uzbekistan at 9 a.m. June 7 in Bad Waltersdorf. Both matches will be streamed live on the Canadian Soccer Association's YouTube channel.

The 28-year-old Ricketts, who is currently without a club team, is tied for sixth in Canadian history with 12 goals in his 48 caps.

On Twitter: @TosaintRicketts

• UW center back Sam Brotherton started both matches as New Zealand beat Fiji 3-1 on Saturday and routed Vanuatu 5-0 on Tuesday in its first two games at the Oceania Football Confederation Nations Cup in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Brotherton, who now has three caps for the full national team, logged all 90 minutes in the opener, though he was called for a penalty in first-half stoppage time that led to Fiji's lone goal. He played 56 minutes in Tuesday's lopsided victory, in which the All Whites scored three times in the opening 10 minutes. New Zealand faces the Solomon Islands (1-1-0) in its Group B finale Saturday; the top two finishers in the group advance to the semifinals and earn spots in the third round of OFC World Cup 2018 qualifying.
• UW's Victoria Pickett and the Canadian Under-20 women's national team tied Mexico 0-0 in a friendly May 18 in Mexico City and dropped a 2-0 decision in a rematch three days later. The matches were part of a 10-day training camp as the team prepares for the FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup in Papua New Guinea, which starts Nov. 13.