It’s the rematch that Canadian soccer fans have been waiting on ever since the 2012 Summer Olympics.
The Canadian women’s team will host the United States in an international friendly on June 2 at Toronto’s BMO Field, marking the first meeting between the two sides since their dramatic semifinal encounter at the London Games.
Programming alert: Watch Canada vs. United States in an international women’s friendly live from Toronto on all four Sportsnet main channels on June 2. Coverage begins at 4.30pm ET/1:30pm PT
On Wednesday, Canadian coach John Herdman unveiled his 18-player roster, which includes star forward Christine Sinclair, the team’s captain and Canada’s all-time leading scorer with 145 goals in 195 appearances.
Sinclair is one of 14 players on this squad who were part of Canada’s bronze-medal-winning roster at London 2012.
Others named to the squad include youngsters Kadeisha Buchanan, Tiffany Cameron and Ashley Lawrence, as well as Rachel Quon, a 21-year-old defender who has earned her first call-up to a Canada camp.
Quon is an Illinois native who has come up through the U.S. system but is eligible to play for Canada through a family connection. Herdman said that FIFA must still grant final approval.
Also, veteran striker Melissa Tancredi rejoins the team for the first time since the Olympics.
“It was important for us to bring in a blend of youth and experience for this game,” Herdman said in a news release.
“We feel we have a good blend of players that have experience playing against USA – but we are also sticking to our task of preparing for the future.”
In the Olympic semifinal, Sinclair gave Canada the lead on three separate occasions but the Americans ultimately prevailed in extra time. Canada rebounded from the loss to beat France for the bronze medal and claim its first-ever Olympic medal in women’s soccer and the country’s first summer Olympics medal in a traditional team sport since 1936.
More recently, the Canadian women’s team played to a 1-1 draw against France and lost 1-0 to England during its European tour last month. Before that, England defeated Canada in the final of the Cyprus Cup tournament in March.
The U.S. squad will be comprised of many of the players who suited up against Canada at the Olympics, with a few exceptions. American goalkeeper Hope Solo is still recovering from wrist surgery, while Megan Rapinoe is unavailable due to commitments with her pro club in France.
Returning for the U.S. squad will be Carli Lloyd, who has been recently sidelined after breaking her left shoulder.
CANADIAN ROSTER
GOALKEEPERS: Karina LeBlanc, Erin McLeod
DEFENDERS: Kadeisha Buchanan, Robyn Gayle, Carmelina Moscato, Rachel Quon, Lauren Sesselmann, Rhian Wilkinson, Emily Zurrer
MIDFIELDERS: Kaylyn Kyle, Ashley Lawrence, Diana Matheson, Sophie Schmidt, Desiree Scott
FORWARDS: Tiffany Cameron, Christina Julien, Christine Sinclair, Melissa Tancredi