Canadian women to play three games in Brazil in April as part of FIFA Series 2026

Canada's Head Coach Casey Stoney sits on a cooler as she watches her team against Costa Rica during international women's friendly soccer action in Toronto, on Friday June 27, 2025.

The Canadian women will face Brazil, South Korea and Zambia in April as part of the FIFA Series, expanded to 48 men’s and women’s teams in 2026.

The 2026 Series follows a pilot project in 2024 which featured 24 teams playing in five locations across three continents. The 2026 edition features 36 men’s and 12 women’s sides, divided into 12 groups of four.

The 10th-ranked Canadians are grouped with No. 6 Brazil, No. 21 South Korea and No. 64 Zambia with Brazil hosting the games. Those will be Canada’s only Series matches.

“This is an exciting opportunity to test ourselves against three quality opponents with contrasting styles,” Canada coach Casey Stoney said in a statement. “Playing in a country with such a strong football culture only raises the level, and experiences like this are essential as we continue to raise our standards and pursue our goals.”

The Canadian women hold an 11-11-10 record against Brazil with three of those draws turning into penalty shootout wins for Canada — including the last time the teams met, in April 2024 at the SheBelieves Cup in Atlanta.

Canada is 9-1-1 against South Korea and scored a lopsided 5-1 win the last time they met, in December 2024 in Spain under interim coach Cindy Tye. Canada has gone 5-0-1 against the Koreans since losing 3-1 at the Yongchuan Cup in January 2013 in China.

Canada has never met Zambia.

The governing body of football says the FIFA Series provides national teams “with opportunities for cross-confederation competition without adding fixtures to the international match calendar, while promoting technical growth, organizational development and global exchange.”

The Ivory Coast and Thailand will also host women’s groups.

While the full competition schedule has not been announced yet, games will be played during international match windows in March and April.

Australia, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Rwanda and Uzbekistan will host men’s groups (with Rwanda staging two pools).

The men’s side of the FIFA Series features five teams that have qualified for the World Cup in No. 27 Australia, No. 52 Uzbekistan, No. 67 Cabo Verde, No 81 Curaçao and No. 85 New Zealand.

Canada will open play in 2026 at the SheBelieves Cup where it will face No. 20 Colombia on March 1 in Nashville, the second-ranked U.S. on March 4 in Columbus, Ohio, and No. 30 Argentina on March 7 in Harrison, N.J.

The Canadian women finished 2025 mired in a five-game losing streak and a 454-minute goal drought.

FIFA Series Groups (With host countries listed first)

Women

Brazil, Canada, South Korea, Zambia.

Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Pakistan, Turks and Caicos Islands

Thailand, Congo DR, Nepal, OFC team.

Men

Australia, Cameroon., China, Curaçao.

Azerbaijan, Oman, Sierra Leone, St Lucia.

Indonesia, Bulgaria, Solomon Islands, St. Kitts and Nevis.

Kazakhstan, Comoros, Kuwait, Namibia.

New Zealand, Cabo Verde, Chile, Finland.

Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands.

Rwanda, Estonia, Grenada, Kenya.

(Also in Rwanda) Aruba, Liechtenstein, Macau, Tanzania.

Uzbekistan, Gabon, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 19, 2026

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press