Canada WNT to face USA in Olympic rematch

Canada will face defending Olympic champion USA in the London 2012 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament semi-final this Monday 6 August. The two teams will meet at Old Trafford Stadium at 19.45 local, the second of two semi-final matches in England on Monday. The day’s two winners will advance to the women’s championship final on Thursday 9 August at Wembley Stadium in London.

“The girls are just focused on trying to achieve the goal: to win a gold medal,” said Canadian head coach John Herdman.

Back in Canada, the match can be watched live on TSN, RDS and CTVOlympics.ca at 14.45 ET / 11.45 PT. Earlier in the day, France will face Japan in the other semi-final match live from Wembley in London. The two winners will advance to the gold-medal final at Wembley while the other two teams will advance to the bronze-medal match at the City of Coventry Stadium (also on 9 August).

Canada and USA met at the last Women’s Olympic Football Tournament at Beijing 2008. That time, it was the quarter-final phase and both teams remained equal after 90 minutes. It took an extra-time goal by USA to eliminate Canada in its first Olympic participation.

Four years later, Canada has made it one step further by reaching the semi-final phase. For Canada and USA, the best two teams in CONCACAF, it will be Olympic duel No. 2. 

“If it’s USA or if it’s Japan or France, they’re in the way and we have to move over, through or around that obstacle,” said Canadian head coach John Herdman. “We’re underdogs going into this game. USA are on a great roll; there are not too many chinks in that armour.”

Through four games, Canada has posted two wins, one draw and one loss at the London 2012 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament. Canada’s most recent victory was a 2:0 win over host Great Britain in the quarter-final phase. In all competitions this year, Canada’s overall international record is 13 wins, one draw and six losses in 20 matches.

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.