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, February 7 will qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games as well as advance to the Sunday, February 9 Concacaf final. Both the semi-finals and final will be played in Carson, California, 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, Texas while Group A will play their first three matches in Edinburgh, Texas. Canada’s three match dates are Wednesday, January 29 against Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saturday, February 1 against Jamaica, and Tuesday, February 4 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 February 7 and final on February 9 while the other four nations 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 January 28 to February 9 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.
