By the Numbers: Canada vs. Nigeria

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Canada’s women’s soccer team is back in action Friday night as they take on Nigeria in the first of two friendlies in British Columbia. The two sides will face off at B.C. Place in Vancouver before travelling to Victoria for a rematch at Starlight Stadium on Monday.

The two games are a continuation of the Celebration Tour, which started in October in honour of the Canadians taking home gold at the Tokyo Olympics.

The matches will also serve as important preparation for World Cup qualifiers this summer, in addition to honouring several current and former national team players.

For a closer look at everything you need to know for these games, let’s go by the numbers.

88

Canada, ranked sixth in the world, is 88 days away from qualifiers for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

The CONCACAF W Championship begins on July 4 in Monterrey, Mexico. The top four teams in the tournament will earn berths in the World Cup, and the champion will also automatically qualify for the 2024 Olympics. The second- and third-place teams will advance to a playoff in September to determine the final CONCACAF berth for the Olympics.

“I think this summer, we can’t underestimate what’s in front of us,” head coach Bev Priestman told the media last week. “We have to stay in the now. I look back at the last Olympic qualification – tight results, late goals. It’s harder than ever now in the women’s game.”

1-1-1

In three all-time meetings against the 39th-ranked Nigerians, Canada has one win, one loss and one draw. The win came in the most recent meeting, a 2-1 victory in a friendly three years ago on Apr. 8, 2019. The Super Falcons took a 1-0 lead before goals by Janine Beckie and Sophie Schmidt secured the