Canadian women to face Australia in preparation for Olympic title defence

Canada will face 12th-ranked Australia in an International friendly on July 13 in Marbella, Spain, as part of its final preparations for defence of its Olympic women's soccer title.

Canada opens Olympic Group A play against No. 28 New Zealand on July 25 before facing No. 2 France on July 28 and No. 22 Colombia on July 31.

The game against Australia will likely give the Canadians a chance to get a taste of what New Zealand has to offer. The Canadian women are coming off a two-game series against Mexico, which was seen as a chance to experience the kind of game Colombia plays.

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The camp in Marbella will see Canada's European-based players arrive Thursday with North American-based players joining on July 8.

Canada has a 10-8-3 record against Australia, including 5-0 and 1-0 wins in B.C. in December in a series that marked longtime captain Christine Sinclair's final international outings.

They were the first meetings of the teams since co-host Australia ended Canada's World Cup with a humbling 4-0 win last July in Melbourne. That defeat consigned Canada to third place in Group B and a trip home while Australia went on to finish fourth.