Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team to face Wales in Women’s International Friendly Match

As part of the continued preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team will face Wales in an away Women’s International Friendly match on 9 April 2021.

The match will take place during the April FIFA international window, during which Canada will also face England in a Women’s International Friendly Match on 13 April. Fans will find extended coverage across Canada Soccer’s digital channels on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter featuring the social media hashtag #CANWNT.

Canada Soccer will continue to closely monitor all COVID-19 developments in consultation with the Public Health Agency of Canada and relevant governing bodies through the Canada Soccer Sport Medicine Committee.

“The matches against Wales and England in April will be a great test for us as we build towards the Tokyo Olympic Games this summer,” said Bev Priestman, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team Head Coach. “The camp will give us the opportunity to face two different type of opponents in a tight turnaround. Canada Soccer will continue its concerted effort to secure the release of players, so it will give us the opportunity to continue assessing the group and see where we are at as we get ourselves ready for the Tokyo Olympic Games.”

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 Christine Sinclair and former Women’s National Team player Kara Lang both scoring two goals.

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, which included Head Coach Bev Priestman’s first victory with the 1:0 win over Argentina.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
As part of International Women’s Day, Canada Soccer celebrates our early adoption and support of the women’s game and system-wide investment made as a federation in our Women’s National Team Program. Established in 1986, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team have played over 400 international “A” matches while the Women’s National Team Program has featured more than 900 players from the Youth National Teams to the National Team.

As part of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 Legacy, Canada Soccer directly supported the development of professional opportunities for women’s soccer by co-founding the National Women’s Soccer Leagues (NWSL) along with Mexico and the United States, with already 40 Canadian players featured across the league’s first eight seasons from 2013 to 2020. Also part of the Canada 2015 Legacy to support Canada’s best youth players, Canada Soccer established the Regional EXCEL and Super EXCEL Centres from coast to coast across Canada, with already more than 500 youth players featured in the program since 2013.

Canada are one of just five nations in the world that have qualified for each of the past four Women’s Olympic Football Tournaments. Canada are also the only nation in the world to reach the podium at both London 2012 and Rio 2016 in women’s football.

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).