Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team announces pre-camp squad ahead of the SheBelieves Cup

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Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team have announced their squad for a pre-tournament camp ahead of the 2023 SheBelieves Cup in USA. The five-day camp from 8-12 February will lead straight into the international window which opens 13 February and their first match in the SheBelieves Cup on Thursday 16 February against hosts USA.

As the pre-tournament camp falls just outside the official window on the Women’s International Match Calendar, the Canada squad will predominantly feature players from out-of-season leagues like the National Women’s Soccer League in USA and Damallsvenskan in Sweden. Canada will announce their official SheBelieves Cup squad ahead of the opening match on 16 February.

“With half of the squad heading into the She Believes Cup out of season and the match demand of three back-to-back games, we felt it was important to get a few team-based sessions in ahead of the FIFA window,” said Bev Priestman, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team Head Coach. “It will also provide the opportunity to assess a few more players ahead of this important World Cup Year and I’m excited to get back on the grass with the group”

Canada are scheduled to face three different opponents in three different cities in the February window at the SheBelieves Cup. Following the opening match on 16 February, Canada will then face Brazil on Sunday 19 February in Nashville and then Japan on Wednesday 22 February in Frisco near Dallas. Canada and USA are reigning and former Olympic champions while both USA and Japan are former FIFA World Cup champions and Brazil are former FIFA World Cup and Olympic runners up.

This will mark the second time in three years that Canada takes part in the SheBelieves Cup. Canada previously took part in the tournament in February 2021 in the buildup to the Olympic Games, with champion coach Bev Priestman making her international debut as Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team’s Head Coach. In the 2021 tournament, Canada lost 0:1 to USA, won 1:0 over Argentina, and lost 0:2 to Brazil. Canada lost only one more match for the rest of the year, finishing 2021 with seven wins and seven draws in 17 international matches to go along with an Olympic Gold Medal.

This year, all four nations at the SheBelieves Cup are preparing for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023. Looking ahead to their group phase in the month of July, Canada will face Nigeria on Friday 21 July in Melbourne, Republic of Ireland on Wednesday 26 July in Perth, and co-host Australia on Monday 31 July in Melbourne.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™, which will be held from 20 July 2023 to 20 August 2023, will see 30 nations join the hosts Australia and New Zealand who have already qualified for the biggest tournament in the world. The FIFA Women’s World Cup™ will be a tournament of firsts. In 2023, fans will see 32 nations playing 64 matches across nine host cities in Australia and New Zealand for the first time in FIFA Women’s World Cup™ history.

CANADA SOCCER’S WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM
Canada are Olympic champions (Tokyo in 2021), two-time bronze medal winners (2012 and 2016), and two-time Concacaf champions (1998 and 2010). In all, Canada have participated in seven consecutive editions of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ (1995 to 2019) and four consecutive editions of the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament (2008 to 2021). At Tokyo 2020, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team became the first Canadian team to win three consecutive medals at the Summer Olympic Games and just the third nation in the world to win three medals in women’s soccer.

Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Youth Teams, meanwhile, have won four Concacaf youth titles: the 2004 and 2008 Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship, the 2010 Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Championship, and the 2014 Concacaf Girls’ Under-15 Championship. Canada have qualified for eight editions of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup (including a silver medal at Canada 2002) and all seven editions of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup (including a fourth-place finish at Uruguay 2018).

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Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team announces pre-camp squad ahead of the SheBelieves Cup