The Canadian women’s national team will face Australia in a friendly match in Marbella, Spain, next week as part of their final preparations to defend their Olympic soccer title, Canada Soccer announced on Wednesday.
Following the match against Australia on July 13, the eighth-ranked Canada will play a behind-closed-doors game on July 17 against yet-to-be-disclosed opponents.
“Australia has been a consistent podium threat across recent major tournaments, and we wanted to really test ourselves prior to going into France,” Canada head coach Bev Priestman said. “It will be important to blend minutes, form partnerships, and continue to grow as a squad in order to be ready come 25 July.”
Canada has faced Australia five times since 2022, with the most recent match held last December in Vancouver, where Canada secured a 1-0 victory, bidding farewell to Canadian soccer legend Christine Sinclair.
The preparation camp in Marbella will see European-based players arrive on Thursday, while North American-based players will join on July 8. The team will stay in Spain until heading to the Paris Olympics.
Canada Soccer recently unveiled an 18-player roster for the Paris Olympics, which includes 13 women from the squad that won gold in Tokyo.
Canada has reached the knockout stage in all four of their previous Olympic appearances, earning bronze medals at London 2012 and Rio 2016 before winning gold at Tokyo 2020.
In the group stage of the Paris Games, Canada will face New Zealand on July 25, France on July 28, and Colombia on July 31.