Canadian women to host South Korea in Toronto in June soccer friendly

Canada's Janine Beckie, number 16, celebrates with teammates after scoring her side's first goal during the Arnold Clark Cup women's soccer match between England and Canada, at the Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough, England, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. (Zac Goodwin/PA via AP)

TORONTO — The Canadian women’s soccer team will host South Korea on June 26 at Toronto’s BMO Field.

Canada is ranked sixth in the world compared to No. 17 for South Korea.

The Canadian women last played in Toronto in May 2019 when they beat Mexico 3-0 in a friendly ahead of the World Cup in France.

The June game is to help the Canadians prepare for this summer’s CONCACAF W Championship in Mexico, which serves as a qualifier for both the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand and the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Canada will open play in the CONCACAF W Championship group stage on July 5 against Trinidad and Tobago before facing Panama on July 8 and Costa Rica on July 11.

After winning the Olympics last summer in Tokyo, coach Bev Priestman has talked of the World Cup as the next mountain to climb.

“This summer is a critical part of our new mountain and so we are pleased to secure a home game against a difficult side such as Korea Republic as part of our final preparations for the new CONCACAF Championship tournament as well as face an Asian opponent ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup,” Priestman said in a statement.

The Canadian women are 7-1-0 against the Koreans, posting a 3-0 win when they met most recently in the final of the Algarve Cup in March 2018.

Canada is 2-1-2 this year, including a win over fourth-ranked Germany.

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