The Canadian women’s soccer team is gearing up to take on Brazil, South Korea, and Zambia in April as part of the FIFA Series, which has been expanded to include 48 men’s and women’s teams starting in 2026.
The 2026 Series comes after a successful pilot project in 2024, where 24 teams competed in five different locations across three continents. This time around, the 2026 edition will feature 36 men’s teams and 12 women’s teams, divided into 12 groups of four.
Ranked 10th globally, the Canadian team will be grouped with the 6th-ranked Brazil, 21st-ranked South Korea, and 64th-ranked Zambia, with Brazil serving as the host nation for the matches. These matches will be the only ones for the Canadian team in the Series.
Canada’s head coach, Casey Stoney, expressed excitement about the opportunity to challenge the team against high-quality opponents with diverse playing styles. Stoney emphasized the significance of playing in a country with a strong football culture to elevate the team’s performance and gain valuable experiences to enhance their standards and achieve their goals.
Notably, Canada has a balanced historical record against Brazil with 11 wins, 11 losses, and 10 draws, including three penalty shootout victories for Canada. The last encounter between the two teams took place in April 2024 at the SheBelieves Cup in Atlanta. On the other hand, Canada has a dominant record against South Korea, with 9 wins, 1 loss, and 1 draw, culminating in a convincing 5-1 victory in their most recent meeting in December 2024 in Spain under interim coach Cindy Tye. Since a 3-1 defeat in January 2013 in China, Canada has maintained a strong 5-0-1 record against South Korea. In contrast, Canada has never faced Zambia in a competitive match.
FIFA highlights that the Series offers national teams a platform for cross-confederation competition without adding to the international match calendar, promoting technical growth, organizational development, and global exchange among participating teams. Besides Canada, Ivory Coast and Thailand will also host women’s groups during the Series.
While the exact competition schedule is yet to be finalized, games are scheduled to take place during international match windows in March and April. The men’s side of the FIFA Series will be hosted by Australia, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, and Uzbekistan, with Rwanda hosting two pools. Notably, the men’s competition will feature five teams that have qualified for the World Cup, including Australia, Uzbekistan, Cabo Verde, Curacao, and New Zealand.
Canada will kick off its 2026 campaign at the SheBelieves Cup, where they will face Colombia, the United States, and Argentina in March. The Canadian women’s team ended 2025 on a five-game losing streak with a goal drought lasting 454 minutes, aiming to turn their fortunes around in the upcoming Series.