Canada ready to face Wales in first of two International Women’s Friendly matches

Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team will continue their preparations for this summer’s Olympic Games with a pair of April international friendly matches in Wales and England. Canada are looking forward to two tough matches that will help them continue to build on the progress made at the recent SheBelieves Cup.

Up first is the Wales-Canada match on Friday 9 April in Cardiff, Wales with a live broadcast on OneSoccer’s YoutTube channel (18.00 local / 13.00 ET / 10.00 PT). The second match is England-Canada on 13 April, also scheduled during the FIFA Women’s International Match Calendar. Throughout the April window, Canadian fans will find extended coverage across Canada Soccer’s digital channels on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter featuring the social media hashtag #CANWNT.

“We will use this as an opportunity to continue to build on the progress made in the 2021 SheBelieves Cup, with a greater emphasis on partnerships and chemistry as we move closer to the Olympic Games, given we now have key players available,” said Bev Priestman, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team Head Coach. “I think we can’t underestimate Wales. They have players playing week in week out in the Women’s Super League in England. They are a difficult team to break down, and it’s going to offer us the opportunity to experience a certain style of play, which will only help up in our preparation for Tokyo 2020.”

Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team has only faced Wales once in the history of the program, on 3 March 2002 at the Algarve Cup in Portugal. Canada won the match 4:0, with teens Christine Sinclair and Kara Lang both scoring two goals each.

“They are a very proud nation, so we are expecting a fight,” said Canada’s captain Christine Sinclair. “I know for me, personally, it’s been a long time since I played for Canada (before the pandemic in March 2020). I feel like a little kid, I’m excited to get back out there with my teammates and my friends, and to start my road to the Tokyo Olympics.”

After the match against Wales, Canada will travel to England for their second Women’s International Friendly match. They will face England at Stoke-on-Trent on Tuesday 13 April at 19:15 local (14:15 ET / 11:15 PT).

Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team returned to the pitch last month when they took part in the sixth edition of the SheBelieves Cup in Orlando, FL, USA with matches against USA, Argentina, and Brazil.  Head Coach Bev Priestman registered her first victory as Head Coach with the 1:0 win over Argentina.

OLYMPIC MEDAL WINNERS & CONCACAF CHAMPIONS
Canada are two-time Olympic 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 three consecutive editions of the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament (2008 to 2016). At Rio 2016, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team were the first Canadian Olympic team to win back-to-back medals at a summer Olympic Games in more than a century.

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 seven editions of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup (including a silver medal at Canada 2002) and all six editions of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup (including a fourth-place finish at Uruguay 2018).