Canadian women to travel to China

Canada’s women’s national team has announced that it will face China in an international friendly match this Saturday 24 April. The two sides will meet Chongqing for a 19.35 kickoff.



It has been less than two years since Canada and China last met in the group phase of the 2008 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament. The two sides played to a 1:1 draw on that day in Tianjin, with Christine Sinclair and Xu Yuan trading goals just minutes apart in the first half.



China is in fact one of Canada’s oldest opponents. The two sides first met in a test FIFA competition on 1 June 1988, a 2:0 win for China. Overall, Canada has faced China 11 times and posted a record of one win, three draws and seven losses. The last two matches have ended in a draw.



It will, however, be Canada’s first match against China under the guidance of national head coach Carolina Morace. Canada will spend one week in China with Morace and staff training in advance of the 24 April match. Already this year, Canada has posted five consecutive victories including a win in the 2010 Cyprus Women’s Cup final on 3 March.



Canada, whose title sponsor is Winners and whose presenting partner is Teck, is currently preparing for the 2010 CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup. The dates and venue for the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup have yet to be announced, however it is expected to be played in late October and early November. Two or three CONCACAF teams will qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011, with the top two advancing directly from the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup and the third team meeting the fifth-place European team in a playoff for qualification. To date, Canada has qualified for four consecutive FIFA Women’s World Cups dating back to Sweden 1995.