{
    "title": "Canada-USA: more than just a friendly",
    "modified_at": "2026-05-05 18:33:14",
    "published_at": "2008-05-09 11:00:00",
    "url": "https://news.canadasoccer.com/canada-usa-more-than-just-a-friendly",
    "short_url": "http://prez.ly/ZLFd",
    "culture": "en",
    "language": "EN",
    "subtitle": "For more information on this match, please visit the following fixture report. It\u2019s more than just a friendly. Saturday night\u2019s Canada-United States match may be so entitled, but the Canadian match against the world\u2019s number-one ranked women\u2019s program will have plenty on the line. \u201cWe are pleased to\u2026",
    "slug": "canada-usa-more-than-just-a-friendly",
    "body": "<p>For more information on this match, please visit the following <a href=\"https://canadasoccer.com/tourney/FIFA_WWC/game_profile.asp?gameId=1267\">fixture</a> report.<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200bIt&rsquo;s more than just a friendly. Saturday night&rsquo;s Canada-United States match may be so entitled, but the Canadian match against the world&rsquo;s number-one ranked women&rsquo;s program will have plenty on the line.<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200b&ldquo;We are pleased to open our Olympic (preparations) campaign with another showdown with our rivals south of the border,&rdquo; says coach Even Pellerud. &ldquo;After two and a half weeks, we might enter this game a little rusty compared to our form in Juarez. The game itself will be an early, but still important, part of the match series leading up to Beijing in August.&rdquo;<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200bBoth Canada and the United States have qualified for this summer&rsquo;s Women&rsquo;s Olympic Football Tournament in Beijing, China. At the CONCACAF tournament last month in Juarez, M&eacute;xico, Canada finished second behind the United States after the Americans won 6-5 on penalties. Both teams were undefeated in the tournament with a 3-1-0 record.<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200b&ldquo;Our Canadian team will be similar to our starting lineup in M&eacute;xico,&rdquo; says Pellerud. &ldquo;I expect a very similar starting XI.&rdquo;<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200bIn the that last match on 12 April, Canada pulled off a 1:1 draw with the United States. It was Canada&rsquo;s first point against the United States in five years. The United States has a decisive edge in the 41 matches between both countries since 1986. Canada has just three wins and four draws.<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200bSince the 12 April match, the Canadian players have had a healthy break, only regrouping for training on 1 May. The team arrived in Washington, DC on 7 May ahead of Saturday&rsquo;s match.<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200bSo while the Saturday 10 May match may not be part of any competition, it will be a very important test for the Canadian team in preparation for its first-ever trip to the Olympics. More than that, it will give this group of players a chance to do something it hasn&rsquo;t done it seven years: beat the Americans.<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200bCanada&rsquo;s senior women&rsquo;s national team, whose title sponsor is Winners, recently qualified for the 2008 Women&rsquo;s Olympic Football Tournament, thus becoming the first Canadian team in 24 years and the first women&rsquo;s team in Association history to qualify for the Olympics.<br>\u200b</p>",
    "author": {
        "first_name": "Integration",
        "last_name": "Integration"
    },
    "format_version": 5
}