Coming off a 3-0 win over Colombia in the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup quarterfinal, the U.S. Women’s National Team returns to action on Wednesday, March 6 as the tournament moves to Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego for the Semifinals and Final. In the semifinal, the USA will take on longtime rivals Canada at 10:15 p.m. ET / 7:15 p.m. PT with a spot in Sunday’s Championship Match on the line. Broadcast coverage of the March 6 matchup between the USA and Canada will be available in English on Paramount+ and in Spanish on ESPN Deportes and ESPN+.
The North American foes met in the final of the 2022 Concacaf W Championship in Monterrey, Mexico and now get set to square off in the Semifinals of the inaugural W Gold Cup with another regional trophy at stake.
Get set for the W Gold Cup Semifinal with Five Things to Know about USA vs. Canada.
CANADA ADVANCES AFTER EXTRA-TIME THRILLER
Canada won all three of its group stage matches to kick off the Gold Cup, downing El Salvador 6-0 to open Group C play, beating Paraguay 4-0 in the second group stage match and topping Costa Rica by a score of 3-0 to close out the group stage.
With nine points from three wins and a plus-13 goal differential, Canada advanced to the knockout rounds as the number one overall seed, setting up a matchup against eighth-seed Costa Rica just three days after squaring off in the group stage.
The quarterfinal was a much more tense affair, with Costa Rica frustrating Canada all evening. The Canadians held a huge 39-5 advantage in shots on the night, including a 10-1 advantage in shots on goal, but Costa Rica’s one shot on target nearly proved the difference as Canada ‘keeper Kailen Sheridan was called upon to make an impressive kick save in second-half stoppage time to keep match scoreless and send it to extra time.
Canada finally found the game winner in the first of the two 15-minute extra time periods as forward Evelyne Viens scored off a header in the 104th minute following a free kick from midfielder Jessie Fleming. The Canadian defense saw out the final stages of extra time to record its fourth clean sheet of the tournament and clinch its berth in the semifinal round.
INSIDE THE ROSTER: CANADA
Twenty-two of the 23 players on Canada’s roster for the Concacaf W Gold Cup have seen action so far this tournament, led by center back Kadeisha Buchanan, who has played every minute for Canada this Gold Cup and leads the tournament with 390 minutes played. Of the four semifinalists, Canada is the only team yet to concede a goal this tournament.
On the attack, forward Adriana Leon leads Canada and is tied with Mexico’s Lizbeth Ovalle atop the W Gold Cup scoring charts with five goals. Leon, who spent time with several NWSL clubs and now plays for Aston Villa in England’s Women’s Super League, scored twice in the opening win over El Salvador and netted a hat trick in the second group stage match against Paraguay. Defender Shelina Zadorsky and forwards Jordyn Huitema and Olivia Smith have two goals each. Forward Cloe Lacasse, who plays for Arsenal FC, leads her team and is tied for first at the W Gold Cup with three assists.
Like the USA, Canada’s roster has undergone a few changes since first announced. Defender Sydney Collins was originally named to the roster but was replaced by Bianca St. Georges after Collins fractured her ankle prior to the start of the tournament. Canada will also be without forward Nichelle Prince, who suffered a calf injury in the opening match against El Salvador.
CANADA WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB)
GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Kailen Sheridan (San Diego Wave FC, USA), 18-Sabrina D’Angelo (Arsenal FC, ENG), 22-Lysianne Proulx (Bay FC, USA)
DEFENDERS (7): 2-Bianca St. Georges (North Carolina Courage, USA), 3-Kadeisha Buchanan (Chelsea FC, ENG), 4-Shelina Zadorsky (West Ham United FC, ENG), 10-Ashley Lawrence (Chelsea FC, ENG), 12-Jade Rose (Harvard University, USA), 14-Vanessa Gilles (Olympique Lyon, FRA), 16-Gabby Carle (Washington Spirit, USA)
MIDFIELDERS (5): 5-Quinn (Seattle Reign FC, USA), 7-Julia Grosso (Juventus FC, ITA), 8-Marie-Yasmine Alidou (SL Benfica, POR), 13-Simi Awujo (University of Southern California, USA), 17-Jessie Fleming (Portland Thorns FC, USA)
FORWARDS (7): 6-Deanne Rose (Leicester City FC, ENG), 9-Jordyn Huitema (Seattle Reign FC, USA), 11-Evelyne Viens (AS Roma, ITA), 19-Adriana Leon (Aston Villa FC, ENG), 20-Cloe Lacasse (Arsenal FC, ENG), 21-Clarissa Larisey (BK Hacken, SWE), 23-Olivia Smith (Sporting CP, POR)
CLUB CONNECTIONS
While the USA and Canada are longtime rivals on the field, many players from both teams are current or former club teammates.
Seven players on this Canada roster currently play in the NWSL, highlighted by Sheridan, who helped lead San Diego Wave FC to the 2023 NWSL Shield along with the USA’s Abby Dahlkemper, Naomi Girma, Alex Morgan and Jaedyn Shaw. Defender Gabby Carle plays for the Washington Spirit with the USA’s Trinity Rodman and Casey Krueger, and played collegiately at Florida State with Jenna Nighswonger. St. Georges recently signed with the North Carolina Courage, where she will now play in front of U.S. ‘keeper Casey Murphy and Fleming joined Portland Thorns FC earlier this year, joining forces with Sam Coffey, Olivia Moultrie, Becky Sauerbrunn and Sophia Smith.
In Europe, Sabrina D’Angelo and Lacasse now play with Fox at Arsenal and defender Vanessa Gilles plays with Lindsey Horan at Olympique Lyon.
INSIDE THE SERIES: USA vs. CANADA
This will be the 65th meeting all-time between the USA and Canada in a series that dates back to 1986 when the USWNT was in its second year of existence. The most-common opponent in USWNT history, the USWNT has more wins (53) and more goals (184) against Canada than any other opponent in program history. The U.S. leads the all-time series 53W-7D-4L and has won six of the last seven meetings between the teams, including a 2-0 victory in the most recent matchup at the 2023 SheBelieves Cup.
Wednesday’s W Gold Cup semifinal will be the 14th time the nations have squared off in the knockout rounds of a competitive tournament. Canada is by far the most common opponent the USA has ever played in knockout round matches, with Brazil the next most frequent foe with seven such meetings. The U.S. has won 11 of the 13 previous meetings between the teams in knockout round play and also won on penalties – which is officially recorded as a draw – in the final of 2008 Concacaf Olympic Qualifying. Canada’s lone win over the U.S. in a knockout round match was a 1-0 win in the semifinals of the delayed Tokyo Olympics. The lone goal came off a penalty kick from Jessie Fleming.
The most recent knockout round meeting between the teams came in the final of the 2022 Concacaf W Championship. Squaring off on July 18, 2022, in Monterrey, Mexico, the USA prevailed 1-0 on a penalty kick goal from Alex Morgan in the 78th minute to seal the regional title and earn a spot in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. The USA outshot Canada 17-11 on the night and became just the second nation to qualify for the Olympics, joining hosts France.
PARIS ON THE HORIZON
Canada clinched Concacaf’s second and final berth to the 2024 Summer Games by defeating Jamaica 4-1 on aggregate in a two-legged playoff during the September 2023 International Window. Bouncing back from a disappointing showing at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Canada beat Jamaica 2-0 in the opening leg in Kingston and then officially punched its ticket with a 2-1 win in Toronto.
The defending gold medalists, the 2024 Games will mark Canada’s fifth appearance all-time in the Olympics, qualifying for every edition of the Summer Games since 2008. After falling to the USA in the quarterfinals in 2008 in Beijing, Canada claimed back-to-back bronze medals in London (2012) and Rio (2016) and went on to claim its first Olympic gold medal, topping Sweden 3-2 in penalty kicks in the final of the delayed Tokyo 2021 Olympics after a 1-1 result through regulation.