Canada-Brazil international women’s soccer friendly sells out quickly in Halifax

Oct 14, 2023 | 12:06 PM

HALIFAX — Canada’s women’s soccer friendly against Brazil in Halifax is a sellout, just 20 minutes after tickets went on sale to the general public.

The 10th-ranked Canadians face No. 9 Brazil at Oct. 31 at Halifax’s Wanderers Grounds three days after the teams meet at Montreal’s Saputo Stadium.

It’s the women’s first game in the Maritimes since May 2012, when Canada defeated China 1-0 in Moncton, N.B.

Wanderers Ground, home to the Canadian Premier League’s HFX Wanderers FC, can accommodate some 6,400 spectators. Saputo Stadium, where CF Montreal plays, has a capacity of some 20,800.

A pre-sale started Thursday with tickets going on sale to the general public on Saturday.

The two friendlies follow the Canadian women’s 4-1 aggregate victory over 37th-ranked Jamaica last month in a two-legged Olympic qualifier.

Canada blanked Brazil 2-0 the last time they met in February at the SheBelieves Cup in Nashville.

Canada has a 12-10-7 career record against the South Americans. Two of those wins came via penalty shootout, including a quarterfinal matchup en route to gold at the Tokyo Olympics.

Like Canada, Brazil came home early from the FIFA World Cup this summer. The Brazilians failed to reach the knockout round, finishing third in Group F with a 1-1-1 record after beating Panama 3-0, losing 2-1 to France and drawing Jamaica 0-0.

Veteran coach Pia Sundhage stepped down after the World Cup with Arthur Elias taking over the Brazilian side. Elias led Corinthians to four Brazilian championships and two Copa Libertadores titles.

Canada also exited after the group stage, finishing third in Group B after drawing Nigeria 0-0, beating Ireland 2-1 and losing 4-0 to co-host Australia.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2023.

The Canadian Press