Canada WNT learn pathway to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team have learned their pathway to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games through a five-match schedule at the eight-nation 2020 Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Canada will face Mexico, Jamaica and St. Kitts and Nevis in Group B after which the top two-nations in the group will cross over to alternate Concacaf Semi-finals against the top-two nations in Group A.

The two winners of those Concacaf Semi-finals on Friday 7 February will qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games as well as advance to the Sunday 9 February Concacaf Final. Both the Semi-finals and Final will be played in Carson, CA, USA near Los Angeles.

“It is crucial as a program that we qualify and deliver a massive performance at the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament in Japan next year,” said Kenneth Heiner-Møller, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team Head Coach. “The Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament is a big event. There are no easy matches and we need to be ready.”

Group B will play their first three matches in Houston, TX, USA while Group A will play their first three matches in Edinburgh, TX. Canada’s three match dates are Wednesday 29 January against Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saturday 1 February against Jamaica, and Tuesday 4 February against Mexico. Group A, meanwhile, features USA, Costa Rica, Panama and Haiti. After the group phase, four nations will fly to Los Angeles for the Semi-finals on 7 February and Final on 9 February while the four nations others will fly home.

Canada Soccer have qualified for each of the last three Summer Olympic Games since Beijing 2008, making history by winning bronze medals at London 2012 and Rio 2016. Canada Soccer is the only Canadian women’s team to win back-to-back medals at the Summer Olympic Games.

The 2020 Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament runs 28 January to 9 February during the FIFA international window. Beyond the current November 2019 window in which Canada have scheduled two international matches in China PR, the 2020 Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament takes place during the next official window when Canada can bring their professional players together for international competition.

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.

WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM: https://canadasoccer.com/women-s-national-team-p144312

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).