Canadian women to face Wales in soccer friendly ahead of April date with England

TORONTO — The Canadian women will face Wales in an April 9 soccer friendly, four days ahead of a previously scheduled match against England.

Venues for both games have yet to be announced. Canada Soccer has only said the two are away matches.

The games, scheduled during the April FIFA international window, are part of Canada’s preparation for this summer’s Tokyo Olympics.

England is currently ranked sixth in the world while Wales is No. 31, tied with Argentina and Ireland. The Canadian women are tied with Brazil at No. 8. 

“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,” Canada coach Bev Priestman said in a statement.

“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 defeated Wales 4-0 in their only previous meeting, at the 2002 Algarve Cup in Portugal. Christine Sinclair, the team’s current captain and the world’s all-time leading goal-scorer, and Kara Lang scored two goals each.

The Canadian women, sidelined since last March, returned to action at the SheBelieves Cup last month in Orlando. The team lost 1-0 to the top-ranked U.S. and 2-0 to Brazil, while beating Argentina 1-0.

Canada Soccer made the Wales game announcement on International Women’s Day.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 8, 2021

The Canadian Press