Canada Set to Defend Its Gold Medal in Paris

2024 presents a great opportunity for Canada to climb back up the world rankings and prove they remain one of the biggest forces in women’s soccer.

The Canadian women’s soccer team heads to Paris in July for the Summer Olympics where they are the defending champions, after winning gold in 2020 in Japan. The team will be hoping to become only the second nation in history to win the tournament more than once.

Bev Priestman’s side ended 2023 strongly, with victories coming against Brazil and Australia. However, they did lose to Brazil in a friendly in Montreal in front of 19,619 people at the Stade Saputo.

Popularity Of Soccer Continues to Grow in Canada

Soccer is a sport that is continuing to grow in Canada. The FIFA Men’s World Cup is set to be played here in 2026 where Canada is +10000 in the latest betting odds to lift the trophy. Being one of the co-hosts for such a prestigious competition is a big boost for the country.

As you will find in the previews of the Women’s Super League and UEFA Men’s Champions League with Paddy Power news, both the women’s and men’s Canadian national teams have players who now feature in the major soccer leagues in Europe. This means they are coming up against the best players in the world, and that is helping them improve.

Canada One Of 12 Teams Set to Compete in Paris

The Olympic Games Football tournament is considered one of the most prestigious events in women’s soccer. Canada defeated Sweden on penalties in the final in 2020 after the game ended 1-1. The Canucks will be one of 12 teams competing for the gold medal this year.

Priestman’s team booked their spot in the tournament by winning the CONCACAF play-off against Jamacia. As you can read in the FIFA match report, Canada won the opening leg of that tie 2-0 in Kingston thanks to goals from Nichelle Prince and Adriana Leon. They then prevailed 2-1 in the second leg at BMO Field in Toronto, ensuring they finished the tie 4-1 in their favor.

As the host nation, France was automatically given a place in the competition. United States, the most successful team in women’s Olympic soccer history, qualified following their success at the 2022 CONCACAF Championship. Brazil and Colombia will also be involved courtesy of their performance at the 2022 Copa America. Five more places remain up for grabs ahead of the event in July.

CONCACAF Next for Canucks

Before they head to Europe for the Olympics, Canada is involved in the 2024 CONCACAF tournament in the United States. They have been drawn in the same group as Costa Rica, Paraguay, and Guatemala or El Salvador. All three of those group games will be played in Houston, Texas.

After a disappointing World Cup in 2023, Priestman will be hoping for much more from her players in the upcoming competition. They were eliminated in the group stages of the World Cup, as the team could only finish third in the group behind Australia and Nigeria respectively.

With two big tournaments to look forward to, 2024 presents a great opportunity for Canada to climb back up the world rankings and prove they remain one of the biggest forces in women’s soccer.