How Many Women's World Cups Has Canada Won?
The Canadian Women’s Soccer Team has never won a FIFA Women’s World Cup. They did not qualify for the inaugural tournament in 1991, but have qualified in every year since. Canada had a rocky start as a team, and has had its ups and downs, but overall, they are a respectable team that should not be overlooked in the World Cup standings.
Overall Record
Canada has played in the FIFA Women’s World Cup seven times: in 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, and 2019. They have an overall win-draw-loss record of 8-5-14 over 27 games played at the tournament. Furthermore, they have qualified for the World Cup eight out of nine times, have scored a total of 34 goals, and have had 52 goals scored against them. They did not make it past the Group Stage in 1995, 1999, 2007, and 2011. However, in 2019, they made it to the second round, in 2015, they reached the quarterfinals, and in 2003, they made it as far as fourth place. Below, we will go over these years in greater detail.
Canada’s Best Women’s World Cup Showing: 2003
After years of not making it through the Group Stage, Canada finally blew up in 2003, surpassing the quarterfinals for the first time in their Women’s World Cup history. Kicking off the tournament in Group C alongside Germany, Japan, and Argentina, Canada placed second in the group, with two wins and one loss: losing to Germany 4-1 but beating Argentina 3-0 and Japan 3-1. Over their Group Stage games, Christine Sinclair and Christine Latham scored two goals each, while Charmaine Hooper and Kara Lang each knocked in one.
When it came time for the quarterfinals, Hooper started hot, scoring a goal in the seventh minute against China. That would be the only goal scored in the game, which ended 1-0 in Canada's favor. Canada would not make it past the semifinals, however. Though Lang scored the first goal of Canada’s semifinal game in the 64th minute, Sweden came back with a vengeance and won 2-1, scoring two goals in the 79th and 86th minutes. This led Canada to the third place match in the tournament, where they faced Team USA.
Canada would go on to lose the third place match 3-1, with Kristine Lilly, Shannon Boxx, and Tiffeny Milbrett from Team USA scoring goals in the 22nd, 51st, and 80th minutes, respectively. Christine Sinclair was the only Canadian to strike back against the United States in the match, with a goal in the 36th minute. However, despite this ultimate loss, Canada had made it as far through the tournament as they ever had, reaching fourth place, and the team has not made it that far since. However, two other Canadian teams came relatively close to matching the performance above, and we will take a quick look at those next.
Other Important Tournament Years
Canada has been largely unpredictable in the Women’s World Cup, but they have had good showings in a couple of different tournaments. We detail some of their accomplishments over certain years below.
2015
In 2015, Canada started the Women’s in Group A, alongside China, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. They managed one win and two draws and achieved the number one rank in their group. On June 6, 2015, Canada beat China 1-0 in the 90th minute, during extra time and on a penalty kick by Christine Sinclair. Five days later, on June 11, Canada tied 0-0 New with Zealand. Four days after that, on June 15, Canada drew again, this time by a score of 1-1 against the Netherlands, with Canada’s sole goal being scored by Kirsten van de Ven.
In the Round of 16, Canada beat Switzerland 1-0 with a goal by Josée Bélanger in the 52nd minute. England came out swinging in the quarterfinals, beating and eliminating Canada 2-1, with two goals in the 11th and 14th minutes. Sinclair scored in the 42nd minute, but England remained locked-in on defense and let no more goals through.
2019
In 2019, Canada was placed in Group E with the Netherlands, Cameroon, and New Zealand. They emerged with two wins and one loss. First, they defeated Cameroon 1-0 on June 10, 2019, with the winning goal being scored by Kadeisha Buchanan in the 45th minute. Next, they went 2-0 over New Zealand on June 15, with their two goals being scored by Jessie Fleming in the 48th minute and Nichelle Prince in the 79th minute. Finally, on June 20, the Netherlands defeated Canada by a score of 2-1, with the sole Canadian goal being scored by Christine Sinclair in the 60th minute.
Canada came in second for their group and advanced to the second round. However, they lost 1-0 to Sweden in the Round of 16, with the decisive goal scored by Sweden’s Emma Blackstenius in the 55th minute.