- goal scored by É. Viens
- goal scored by N. Prince
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goal scored by
- É. Viens goal scored by
- N. Prince
Previous encounters
We'll take a look back at some of our meetings with Canada from down the years...
Pre-match facts
-England have lost two and won one of their last three matches with Canada, with those two defeats coming in friendly encounters, and their win in the 2015 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals – a tournament hosted by the Canadians.
- None of the previous 13 encounters between England and Canada have ended level, with the Lionesses edging the head-to-head record by seven wins to six.
- This will be only England’s second international match in Stoke-on-Trent, with the other coming back in April 2017 against Italy – a 1-1 draw under manager Mark Sampson – though that match came at Vale Park.
- After a 14-game unbeaten home run between April 2015 and October 2018, England have suffered five defeats in their last eight such matches (W3), though they are looking for back-to-back wins for the first time since May 2019.
- Canada have only won two of their last eight fixtures across all competitions (D2 L4), though both wins have come in their last three games (L1), including a 3-0 win in Wales last week.
- During England’s defeat to France last time out, the Lionesses had 61 per cent possession, attempting 526 passes – the highest number of passes in a game in which they’ve lost since October 2019 – a 1-2 defeat against Brazil (590 passes).
- Christine Sinclair – Canada’s most capped player and leading goalscorer – is in line to appear in her 298th international for her country. She has four goals against England, most recently in April 2019, when she scored the winner against the Lionesses the last time the teams met (1-0).
- In the current England squad, only Ellen White (39) and Jill Scott (25) have more goals for the Lionesses than Fran Kirby (14), who made a scoring return to the international stage in France (first cap since 2019), netting from the penalty spot in her country’s 1-3 defeat.
Previous encounters
The first meeting
England 3-2 Canada
FIFA Women's World Cup 1995, group stage
Olympia Stadium, Helsingborg, Sweden
Our first encounter with the Canucks proved to be something of a thriller. After a goalless first half, the match sprung into action when Gillian Coulthard put the Lionesses ahead from the spot before Marieanne Spacey added a second penalty in the 76th minute. Coulthard then added her second of the game with five minutes remaining to seemingly put England in control. But Canada staged something of a late fightback as quickfire goals from Helen Stoumbos and Geri Donnelly gave the scoreline a tighter look.
One to remember
Canada 1-2 England
FIFA Women's World Cup 2015, quarter final
28 June 2015
BC Place, Vancouver, Canada
Almost 55,000 fans packed into the BC Place venue for this clash, as the 2015 World Cup hosts looked to secure a place in the semi-final. They were quickly on the back foot though, as early goals from Jodie Taylor and Lucy Bronze put England 2-0 up within 15 minutes. Canada's Christine Sinclair pulled a goal back just before the break to set up a tense second half, but Mark Sampson's Lionesses remained strong to reach the last four.
Last time out
England 0-1 Canada
International Match
5 April 2019
Academy Stadium, Manchester
It's only just over two years since the nations met in what was a warm-up game ahead of the 2019 World Cup in France. A fairly equal contest, England looked comfortable throughout but Phil Neville's team succumbed to a late blow as Sinclair notched against us again, although this time it proved to be the winner.
For now, you can also enjoy the highlights of our victory against Canada from 2013 above.
International Games
England caught cold in Stoke
Read our report from Stoke, where the Lionesses slipped to defeat against Canada
England couldn't make possession count as early and late goals condemned them to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Canada.
Evelyne Viens struck in the second minute to give the Canucks an early lead that the Lionesses worked hard to scrub out in the first half.
But despite several chances falling to Georgia Stanway, Hege Riise's side couldn't break through and Nichelle Prince struck on 87 minutes to ensure defeat against a team led by former England assistant coach Bev Priestman.
England made it hard for themselves from the off, when they were caught cold after just two minutes and 30 seconds when Viens came from an offside position and took advantage of hesitant defending to stab past Carly Telford.
But the hosts re-settled themselves and enjoyed dominant patterns of possession, with the impressive Stanway often breaking energetically from midfield.
The Manchester City lynchpin came close to catching out Canada keeper Stephanie Labbe from fully 40 yards and then drove wide two minutes later.
But it was Stanway’s central midfield partner Jordan Nobbs who came closest for England on the half-hour mark when Labbe tipped her free-kick onto the crossbar.
Deanne Rose was proving a tricky customer for Riise’s back four to deal with and she led a counter-attack that ended when Quinn’s well-directed shot forced Telford into a save.
Ella Toone was introduced in place of Fran Kirby at the break and that seemed to help the Lionesses open up space between the lines, with Bethany England flicking a header on target in the opening minutes of the second half.
Lucy Bronze, also on from the bench, then repelled two Canada set-pieces and Nobbs broke with searing pace down the right flank, finding Toone with a looping cross that the attacking midfielder couldn't control.
Lauren Hemp remained a threat on the left and the Manchester City star skinned right-back Ashley Lawrence but her low delivery eluded onrushing team-mates.
Livewire Hemp then nicked possession deep in Canada territory and drove into the box where Vanessa Giles made a telling recovering challenge to prevent the winger from scoring.
But England's hopes of salvaging a draw were dashed in the final minutes, as Prince energetically chased down a back-pass to Karen Bardsley and was rewarded when she slid in before the substitute keeper Bardsley could clear to divert home and wrap up the result.
