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Canada will have to get past the United States to make it to the inaugural CONCACAF W Gold Cup final.
The Americans, ranked second in the world, defeated No. 23 Colombia 3-0 in a chippy contest Sunday to set up a semifinal date on Wednesday with the 10th-ranked Canadians at San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium.
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The U.S.-Colombia match played at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, saw seven yellow cards including four to the South Americans.
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Canada advanced to the final four on Saturday by edging No. 43 Costa Rica 1-0 after extra time in Los Angeles.
No. 35 Mexico, which defeated No. 50 Paraguay 3-2 earlier Sunday at BMO Stadium, will take on No. 11 Brazil in the other semifinal Wednesday.
The championship game is set for next Sunday in San Diego.
The tournament field was reseeded after the group stage based on record with No. 1 versus No. 8, No. 2 versus No. 7, and so on.
Canada went into the quarterfinals as the top seed with Costa Rica needing to win a drawing of lots to become the No. 8 seed after finished tied with Puerto Rico on all the other tiebreakers.
A 2-0 upset loss to Mexico dropped the Americans to second place in Group A — and fourth seed in the knockout round.
Canada last faced the U.S. on Feb. 16, 2023, at the SheBelieves Cup, losing 2-0 in Orlando. One could perhaps attach an asterisk to that result, however, with the Canadian women distracted by the ongoing labour battle with Canada Soccer.
The players announced at the start of that tournament that they would not train or play until their grievances were addressed. They boycotted training the next day and had to be forced back on the field under threat of legal action by Canada Soccer.
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The loss at the SheBelieves Cup dropped Canada’s all-time record against the Americans to 4-53-7.
Before that, the North American rivals last met in June 2022 when the U.S. won 1-0 in the final of the CONCACAF W Championship in Guadalupe, Mexico, on a 78th-minute Alex Morgan penalty.
That marked the first contest between the two since Canada’s 1-0 semifinal triumph at the Tokyo Olympics in August 2021.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 3, 2024.
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