U.S. women expect tougher test against Canada this time at SheBelieves Cup

Canada women's national team soccer head coach Casey Stoney watches her team during an international friendly soccer match against Argentina in Vancouver, on Friday, April 4, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

United States coach Emma Hayes is expecting to face a tougher Canada on Wednesday than the side that meekly succumbed 3-0 to the Americans in July the last time they met.

“Canada is in a different place,” Hayes told a pre-match news conference Tuesday.

“I’m seeing more aggression from them out of possession, (they’re) tougher to beat … I think this will be a much tougher test,” she added. “I think they’ll be hurting from that (July) game so you have to expect a reaction from them, but I also think they’ve made progress as a team. So I’m anticipating a different type of match. And the team is very very much prepared for that.”

The two rivals meet Wednesday in Columbus at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field in the second outing for both at the SheBelieves Cup.

The 10th-ranked Canadians snapped a five-game losing streak with an impressive 4-1 win over No. 20 Colombia in Nashville on Sunday before the second-ranked U.S. opened with a chippy 2-0 win over No. 30 Argentina.

It’s the first meeting between the North American rivals since Canada was humbled by a young American side on July 2 at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. The U.S. had 66 per cent possession, outshot Canada 22-7 (8-3 in shots on target) and had a 6-0 edge in corners.

At the time, Canada coach Casey Stoney called the loss “a reality check for everybody.”

Stoney expects the U.S. to come as advertised Wednesday.

‘It’s going to be an extremely competitive game," she said. “I believe we’re in a better place now than when we played against them last time. And the group is obviously brimming with confidence going into this game on the back of the last one (against Colombia), but knowing we need to step up.

“It’s going to be a far more difficult test.”

Added defender Vanessa Gilles: “We know what we did against Colombia isn’t going to be enough against the U.S. But we know that we have the quality for it. We know what we have to tweak.”

The July shutout loss to the Americans started the Canadian slump. The Canadians were shut out during the five-game slide, failing to score against No. 25 Switzerland, the 11th-ranked Netherlands and No. 8 Japan (twice).

In contrast, the American women come into Wednesday’s game riding a seven-game win streak, having outscored the opposition 27-1 since a 2-1 loss to No. 22 Portugal on Oct. 23. They have shut out the opposition for the last 625 minutes.

Canada is 4-54-9 all-time record against the U.S. in a rivalry that dates back to 1986, when the Canadian women’s program was established. The Canadians have not won on American soil since Nov. 11, 2000 — in Columbus — although the U.S. needed a penalty shootout to dispatch Canada in the 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup and SheBelieves Cup.

Canada’s last win over the U.S. was a 1-0 decision in the Tokyo Olympic semifinal in August 2021. That was the Americans’ first loss to their northern neighbours since March 2001, in the group stage of the Algarve Cup.

The U.S. has won seven of the previous 10 editions of the SheBelieves Cup, while finishing runner-up twice.

Canada is making its fourth appearance at the tournament, having finished second in 2024, third in 2021 and fourth in 2023. The Canadian women conclude tournament play Saturday against Argentina in Harrison, N.J.

The U.S. will be without defender Lilly Reale, who has returned to her Gotham FC club side due to a foot injury. But star forward Trinity Rodman, who left the Argentina game after aggravating a back injury, is back training.

The U.S. and Canada are both preparing for November’s eight-team CONCACAF W Championship, which serves as a 2027 World Cup and 2028 Olympic qualifier. As host of the Los Angeles Games, the U.S. women have an automatic berth in he next Olympics.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 3, 2026.

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press