Canada WNT to face New Zealand on Saturday

Canada will face New Zealand in the Match World Women’s Cup this Saturday 14 July 2012, a four-team tournament in advance of the London 2012 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament. The two sides will meet in Châtel-Saint-Denis, Switzerland, with a 16.00 local kick off (10.00 ET / 07.00 PT). Also on 14 July, Brazil faces Colombia with a 19.00 local kick off.

Canada’s match against New Zealand will be broadcast in Canada on EuroWorld Sport at 10.00 ET / 07.00 PT. (EuroWorld Sport is available on Rogers Channel 425 / MTS Channel 165). For those unable to watch on TV – in-depth match updates will be provided on Twitter: @CanadaSoccerEN.

In three days on 17 July, Colombia and New Zealand will kick off at 16.00 while Canada and Brazil will kick off at 19.00. The two matches on 17 July 2012 will be played in Savièse, Switzerland. All four matches in the Match World Women’s Cup 2012 will be broadcast in Canada on EuroWorld Sport.

The Saturday afternoon match marks the 10th international encounter between Canada and New Zealand. Canada leads the series with five wins, three draws and one loss. The most recent match was the 3 March 2010 Cyprus Women’s Cup championship final, a 1:0 victory for Canada. Diana Matheson scored the lone goal in that match, with goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc – in her 75th international appearance – posting the clean sheet.

Of note, while Canadian head coach John Herdman previously faced Canada three times as New Zealand’s head coach, this marks the first time he will face New Zealand as Canada’s head coach. Herdman served as New Zealand’s head coach at two FIFA Women’s World Cups (China 2007 and Germany 2011) and one Women’s Olympic Football Tournament (Beijing 2008).

So far in 2012, Canada has posted a record of 10 wins and four losses in 14 international matches.

From the goal out, Canada’s current squad features Karina LeBlanc and Erin McLeod as goalkeepers, Emily Zurrer, Melanie Booth, Carmelina Moscato, Robyn Gayle, Rhian Wilkinson, Candace Chapman, Marie-Eve Nault and Lauren Sesselmann as defenders, and Kaylyn Kyle, Diana Matheson, Christina Julien, Desiree Scott, Christine Sinclair, Sophie Schmidt, Melissa Tancredi, Kelly Parker, Jonelle Filigno, Brittany Timko and Chelsea Stewart from the midfield up through to the attack.

Twelve teams will compete at the London 2012 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament from 25 July to 9 August. Teams are split into three groups, with Great Britain, Brazil, Cameroon and New Zealand in Group E, Canada, Japan, South Africa and Sweden in Group F, and Colombia, France, Korea DPR and USA in Group G. In the London 2012 group phase, Canada will face Japan on 25 July, South Africa on 28 July, and Sweden on 31 July.

For full coverage of Canada’s road to the London 2012 Olympics, fans can follow all the news at CanadaSoccer.com. Fans are also encouraged to connect with Canada’s national teams via Twitter.com/CanadaSoccerEN, Facebook.com/CanadaSoccer, Flickr.com/CanadaSoccer, and YouTube.com/CanadaSoccerTV.