Though it’s true that the U.S. Women’s National Team has built powerful rivalries and has a long-standing history with countries such as Japan, China PR, Sweden, Germany, Brazil, France and Norway, few produce the intensity seen in a USA-Canada match. While every international match is important, USA vs. Canada brings with it a few factors that make this one of the most interesting matchups in women’s soccer. There’s the proximity between countries, the familiarity between players, many of whom are or have been club teammates, the shared language (not the French part), and the honor of always reaching for the title of best in CONCACAF.

Canada is currently ranked fourth in the world – its highest ever ranking – and most recently won the bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games (to go along with its bronze from 2012). Canada has steadily been climbing up the rankings, while the USA, a three-time World Cup Champion and four-time Olympic Gold medalist sits atop the FIFA rankings.

While the USA has only lost to Canada on three occasions (1986, 2000 and 2001), Canada has come very close a couple of times since – most notably during the 2012 Olympics – but the USA has found ways to triumph, sometimes in dramatic fashion.

The U.S. WNT and Canada have played each other 56 times, tying for the most common opponent in U.S. history along with China PR. The two teams have played each other often and in all types of the international games. There’s been USA vs. Canada in friendlies, in World Cup and Olympic Qualifying, and in Olympic Games and World Cups. Overall, the USA and Canada have played each other nine times in official competitions. The U.S. has gone 9-0-0 in these, outscoring Canada 27-6, but it’s the last five years that have brought some of the best games in the series for these two sides.

Of course, the most memorable match came during the semifinal of the 2012 Olympics when Alex Morgan scored the game-winning goal in the 123rd minute to earn a 4-3 U.S. win in what still stands as the latest goal scored in FIFA history. Canada superstar Christine Sinclair played one of the greatest matches in women’s soccer history that day, scoring all three goals for her country.

Alex Morgan scored the game-winning goal vs. Canada in the 123rd minute at the 2012 Olympics, the latest goal scored in FIFA history.

The teams played two friendlies in 2014, the first on Jan. 31, a 1-0 USA win, and again on May 8 in Winnipeg – about a year before the 2015 Women’s World Cup – in a game that resulted in a 1-1 draw. The most recent meeting came on Feb. 21, in the title game of the 2016 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship.

The USA won the game 2-0 and claimed the regional title with goals from Tobin Heath and Lindsey Horan, both players with the Portland Thorns, where they are captained by Sinclair, Canada’s all-time leading scorer and the second-leading scorer in world history behind U.S. legend Abby Wambach.

The U.S. now heads to Vancouver to play the first of a two-game home-and-away series against Canada in November. The first match will be played on November 9 at BC Place and will kick-off at 7 p.m. PT and be broadcast on ESPN2 and UDN. The teams will then travel to the USA and meet again on November 12 (6 p.m. PT; FS1) at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, California.  The match in Vancouver marks the USA’s return to BC Place for the first time since winning the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup there on July 5, 2015. The historic 5-2 victory against Japan featured Carli Lloyd’s famous hat trick and her legendary long-range goal.

CHICAGO (Aug. 21, 2017) – The U.S. Women's National Team will face Canada on Nov. 12 at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., in the second of a two-game, home-and-away series of friendlies to end the USA’s 2017 schedule. The game will start at 6 p.m. PT and will be broadcast on FS1.

The first match, which was announced on June 29, will be played at BC Place in Vancouver on Nov. 9 (7 p.m. PT; ESPN2, UDN) before the teams travel south to meet again three days later in Northern California.

• READ: USA vs. Canada: Familiar North American Foes

“The overall quality of our schedule in 2017 has been excellent and these games will be a great way to end the year,” U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Jill Ellis said. “From March until November, we’ll have played top teams from every Confederation except Africa and these games against Canada continue that trend while matching up two teams that are very familiar with each other. We want to continue to put our players in those challenging situations while asking them to excel. That’s how we get answers and how we get better as individuals and as a group.”

TICKETS FOR SAN JOSE
Tickets for the match in San Jose go on sale to the public Friday, Aug. 25, at 10 a.m. PT through ussoccer.com and by phone at 1-800-745-3000. [Note: Tickets are not sold at Avaya Stadium except on the day of the event.]

Ultimate Fan Tickets (special VIP packages that include a premium ticket, a custom-made official U.S. National Team jersey with name and number, VIP access to the field before the game, and other unique benefits) are also available for both games exclusively through ussoccer.com.

Coaches Circle and Presidents Circle members supporting the U.S. Soccer Development Fund can receive individual customer support and concierge services for their ticketing needs. Click here or contact circles@ussoccer.org for more information.

TICKETS FOR VANCOUVER
Individual tickets for the match in Vancouver are on sale via Ticketmaster.ca. Discounted group tickets for parties of 10 or more are also on sale (U.S. fans ordering group tickets can indicate that they would like to sit in U.S. supporter sections when they complete the order form).

Additional Notes:

• The match in San Jose will be the final game of 2017 for the U.S. WNT.
• The USA is 47-3-6 all-time against Canada, which is ranked fourth in the world.
• While the USA and Canada have played each other 56 times (tied with China PR for the most common opponent in U.S. WNT history), only twice before have the neighbors played back-to-back games in a home-and-away format.
• The most recent meeting between the teams came in the title game of the 2016 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship, where the USA won 2-0 to take the regional title after both teams had already qualified for Brazil by winning semifinal matches.
• While the USA has a long history of success against Canada, the nine meetings since the turn of the decade have featured two ties and three one-goal wins for the USA.
• The match in Northern California will mark the USA’s ninth visit to San Jose, but just the third visit to Avaya Stadium, home of the San Jose Earthquakes. The USA played at Avaya on Mother’s Day 2015, defeating the Republic of Ireland 3-0, and again last November in an 8-1 victory against Romania.
• The USA’s first six matches in San Jose were all at historic Spartan Stadium.
• The U.S. Women have never lost in San Jose, going 8-0-0 while scoring 39 goals and allowing just two.
• The U.S. WNT has numerous players with Bay Area connections. Defender Kelley O’Hara, forward Christen Press and goalkeeper Jane Campbell all attended Stanford. Forward Alex Morgan attended UC Berkeley, while defender Julie Ertz attended Santa Clara University, which is very close to Avaya Stadium, and forward Lynn Williams is from Fresno, Calif., about 150 miles southeast of Avaya Stadium.
• The matches against Canada will feature numerous club teammates squaring off as the Canadians have 11 players in the NWSL, including all-time leading scorer Christine Sinclair of the Portland Thorns and three goalkeepers in Stephanie Labbe of the Washington Spirit, Sabrina D’Angelo of North Carolina FC and Kailen Sheridan of Sky Blue FC.
• The match in Vancouver marks the USA’s return to BC Place for the first time since winning the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup there on July 5, 2015. The historic 5-2 victory against Japan featured Carli Lloyd’s famous hat trick and epic long-range goal.
• The first came in 1995 when the USA defeated Canada 9-1 in Dallas on May 19 and then traveled to Edmonton and won 2-1 in what were the final matches before the 1995 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Sweden. In 2001, the teams tied 2-2 in Toronto on June 30 and then traveled to Blaine, Minn., where the USA earned a 1-0 victory on July 3.