Canada Soccer – TORONTO (June 20th, 2016) – On Monday, Canada Soccer and the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) named the 18 athletes nominated to represent Canada in women’s soccer at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games from August 5 to 21.

Canada’s Women’s National Soccer Team qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship in Texas in February, earning Canada its third consecutive Olympic berth in women’s soccer.

As the reigning Olympic bronze medallists, Canada will face Australia, Zimbabwe, and Germany in Group F of the Rio 2016 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament. From 12 nations, which are divided into three groups, eight nations will advance to the quarterfinal stage, including the top-two teams from each group along with the next two best nations.
Canada’s Women’s National Soccer team will be aiming to reach the podium once again, as it did four years ago at London 2012 when it memorably claimed Canada’s first medal in a summer team sport at an Olympic Games since Berlin 1936.

The Rio 2016 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament runs August 3-19 in cities throughout Brazil. The quarterfinals are on August 12; the semi-finals are on August 16; both the bronze and gold medal matches are on August 19.

Canada Soccer, in partnership with its membership and its partners, provides leadership in the pursuit of excellence in soccer, both at the national and international levels. Canada Soccer not only strives to lead Canada to victory, but also encourages Canadians to a life-long passion for soccer.

At Rio 2016, Canada expects to field a team of more than 315 athletes.

QUOTES

“I’m excited. This will be my third Olympics and it is an honour every single time. The young players coming into this Olympic squad have brought an energy and passion to our team and they have risen the bar. I am excited to do whatever I can to help take this team to the podium.”

Christine Sinclair, two-time Olympian, Soccer

“We will have to be at our best in every match to progress through this Olympic tournament. It will be about producing personal bests, and I believe that the combination of the young players that we’ve brought into the team and the culture that’s been created by the veterans, will give us a chance to really have a push in Rio.”

John Herdman, Women’s National Team Head Coach, Canada Soccer

“In 2012 this team captured the hearts of Canadians with its determination and grit. In the four years since those incredible moments in London, this team united the nation at the record-setting FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™ and continued their hard work in preparing for another shot at the Olympic podium. We are very proud to support these 18 wonderful athletes and wish them the best of luck in the competition.”

Victor Montagliani, President, Canada Soccer

“One of my favourite memories during the London 2012 Olympic Games was watching these women play their hearts out for Canada. It is because of the players nominated today that soccer is continuing to grow in our country. I am confident that captain Sinclair leading this team once again will create more memorable moments for all of us in Rio.”

Curt Harnett, Rio 2016 Team Canada Chef de Mission

“Four years ago, after a podium performance at the Olympic Games in London, our women’s soccer team talked about unfinished business. After inspiring a nation last summer while Canada Soccer hosted the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™, I know Canada will be ready to finish the job on the pitch in Brazil as they proudly represent the maple leaf.”

The Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities

The Canadian women’s soccer team which will represent Canada at the Rio 2016 includes:

Athletes:

First	Last	Hometown
Janine	Beckie	Highlands Ranch, CO
Josée	Bélanger	Coaticook, QC
Kadeisha	Buchanan	Brampton, ON
Allysha	Chapman	Courtice, ON
Sabrina	D’Angelo	Welland, ON
Jessie	Fleming	London, ON
Stephanie	Labbé	Stony Plain, AB
Ashley	Lawrence	Caledon, ON
Diana	Matheson	Oakville, ON
Nichelle	Prince	Ajax, ON
Rebecca	Quinn	Toronto, ON
Deanne	Rose	Alliston, ON
Sophie	Schmidt	Abbotsford, BC
Desiree	Scott	Winnipeg, MB
Christine	Sinclair	Burnaby, BC
Melissa	Tancredi	Ancaster, ON
Rhian	Wilkinson	Baie-d’Urfé, QC
Shelina	Zadorsky	London, ON

Coaches:

Position	First	Last	Hometown
Head Coach	John	Herdman	Consett, UK

Prior to being named to the final Canadian Rio 2016 Team, all nominations are subject to approval by the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Team Selection Committee following its receipt of nominations by all National Sport Federations.

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For more information:

Canada Soccer

Carrie Croft, Public Relations Manager
Tel: 613-406-4986
Email: ccroft@canadasoccer.com

Canadian Olympic Committee

Cherry Ye, Program Manager, Media Relations
Tel: 416-324-4123 / Cell: 416-427-4341
Email: cye@olympic.ca

Ricky Landry, Manager, Communications
Tel: 514-861-3696 / Cell: 514 229-4833
Email: rlandry@olympic.ca

 

BACKGROUNDER

Canada’s Women’s National Soccer Team

Additional Roster information:

• Captain Christine Sinclair is Canada’s most capped international player (243), Canada’s all-time leading goal scorer and second in the world for career international goals after recently surpassing American Mia Hamm while at the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualification Championship in Texas. With 162 international goals, she is only 22 goals behind all-time leader Abby Wambach (USA/retired) with 184.
• All four of the active top ten Canadian women’s goal scorers will be present in Rio, including Sinclair (162), Melissa Tancredi (25), Diana Matheson (17) and Sophie Schmidt (16).
• The average age of the team at the beginning of the Olympic tournament will be 25.4 years
• Deanne Rose is the youngest player on the team at 17 years old. Rose recently scored her first Canadian Women’s National Team goal at the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualification Championship.
• Women’s National Team (WNT) appearances: Sinclair (243), Matheson (183), Wilkinson (175), Tancredi (118), Schmidt (149), Scott (110), Buchanan (56), Bélanger (50), Lawrence (38), Chapman (32), Labbé (30), Fleming (28), Quinn (20), Beckie (18), Prince (16), Zadorsky (15), Rose (12), D’Angelo (2).
• WNT goals: Sinclair (162), Tancredi (25), Matheson (17), Schmidt (16), Beckie (9), Wilkinson (7), Bélanger (7), Prince (6), Lawrence (4), Buchanan (3), Quinn (3), Rose (3), Fleming (2), Chapman (1), Zadorsky (1), Scott (0). Collectively, this squad has scored 266 goals for Canada’s Women’s National Team.
• Goalkeeper clean sheets: Labbé (14), D’Angelo (1).

Additional Notes:

• Canada recently split a two-game home friendly series against Brazil in preparation for Rio 2016. Canada fell 2-0 to Brazil in Toronto, before rallying back in a decisive 1-0 win in Ottawa. Both matches set attendance records for national teams in the respective venues with a total of 52,172 fans.
• Canada’s Women’s National Team won the Algarve Cup in Portugal for the first time in its history in March 2016, beating Brazil 2-1 in the final match.
• Canada’s Women’s National Team will come together in July for one last home camp before heading to France to play an international friendly (July 23rd) as well as a closed door match against China (June 20th ) in the final stages of Olympic preparations.
• Canada will face Australia, Zimbabwe, and Germany in the group stage of the Rio 2016 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament beginning August 3rd in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

History versus 2016 Rio Olympic Group Stage opponents:

• Canada has played Australia 15 times with a 5-3-7 record. Since 2000, the record is 3-2-2. (Full results below).
• Canada has never played Zimbabwe. Rio 2016 will mark Zimbabwe’s first Olympic tournament.
• Canada has played Germany 12 times with a 0-0-12 record.

Canada v Australia

Date	Location	Match type	Result	Opponent
2008-05-23	Sydney, AUS	International	1 – 2	AUS
2007-09-20	Chengdu, CHN	International	2 – 2	AUS
2003-09-14	Kingston, ON, CAN	International	2 – 0	AUS
2002-09-28	Victoria, BC, CAN	Women’s International Friendly	0 – 1	AUS
2002-09-26	Burnaby, BC, CAN	International	2 – 0	AUS
2002-04-03	Poitiers, FRA	International	0 – 0	AUS
2000-06-04	Campbelltown, AUS	International	2 – 0	AUS
1999-06-12	Toronto, ON, CAN	International	2 – 0	AUS
1999-06-09	Etobicoke (Toronto), ON, CAN	International	1 – 3	AUS
1999-01-10	Canberra, AUS	International	3 – 4	AUS
1997-06-07	Oakford, PA, USA	International	2 – 3	AUS
1995-05-13	Burnaby, BC, CAN	International	0 – 3	AUS
1995-05-11	Burnaby, BC, CAN	International	3 – 0	AUS
1987-12-17	Taipei	International	0 – 0	AUS
1987-12-12	Kaohsiung	International	0 – 2	AUS

Canada v Germany

Date	Location	Match type	Result	Opponent
2014-06-18	Vancouver, BC, CAN	Women’s International friendly	1 – 2	GER
2013-06-19	Paderborn, GER	Women’s International Friendly	0 – 1	GER
2011-06-26	Berlin, GER	International	1 – 2	GER
2010-09-15	Dresden, GER	International	0 – 5	GER
2005-09-04	Edmonton, AB, CAN	International	3 – 4	GER
2005-09-01	Burnaby, BC, CAN	International	1 – 3	GER
2005-04-24	Hildesheim, GER	International	2 – 3	GER
2005-04-21	Osnabrück, GER	International	1 – 3	GER
2003-09-20	Columbus, OH, USA	International	1 – 4	GER
2001-06-17	Oberhausen, GER	International	2 – 6	GER
2001-06-14	Goch, GER	International	0 – 3	GER
1994-07-27	Montréal, QC, CAN	International	1 – 2	GER