Canadian women to face second-ranked Germany in April for soccer friendly

TORONTO – The Canadian women’s soccer team will meet Olympic champion Germany on April 9 in Erfurt.

While a friendly, it’s a rubber match of sorts. At last summer’s Olympic Games, Canada defeated Germany 2-1 in pool play but lost 2-0 in the semifinals. John Herdman’s team went on to beat host Brazil 2-1 for the bronze medal while Germany downed Sweden 2-1 for the gold.

The April date falls in a FIFA international window, meaning European-based players like Kadeisha Buchanan, Ashley Lawrence and Sophie Schmidt should be available to play for Herdman.

The Rio Games marked Canada’s first ever win over Germany, ending a 12-match losing streak against the European powerhouse. The Canadian women’s overall record against Germany is 1-13-0.

“It was just such a great moment for our team, beating the European Champions and securing first in our group, but for me watching the performance of Melissa Tancredi, who some people had written off in 2015, it was a moment I will never forget,” said Herdman. “She put everything out there and showed the world what she is all about. It was fantastic.”

Tancredi, who captained the team that day in Christine Sinclair’s absence, scored twice for Canada. The veteran striker is retiring after a Feb. 4 friendly in Vancouver against Mexico.

Canada’s Olympic performance moved the team to No. 4 in the world rankings. Germany is No. 2, behind the U.S.

“We want to take this team from fourth to first and the only way to do that is to consistently play tier-one, world-class teams like Germany,” said Herdman. “We’ve made a commitment to play the best and this match in April will give us an opportunity to test ourselves against the best in the world.”