Emma Hayes shares two-word verdict on Canada as USWNT clash announced

USWNT head coach Emma Hayes has labeled Canada a "top team" following the announcement of their clash at the Allstate Continental Clásico in Washington on July 2

The Allstate Continental Clásico is returning for its third iteration, but this time it's the U.S. Women’s National Team who will take center stage. Announced on Monday, the game will see Emma Hayes’ side take on what she called a “top team” in Canada at Audi Field, the home of the NWSL’s Spirit, in Washington on July 2.

“Canada is a top team and this match is worthy of the Allstate Continental Clásico,” Hayes said. “As this game will end a three-match window, we’ll get a good chance to see our whole roster in training and hopefully game action before selecting a team to start in Washington, D.C.

“The Spirit fans have been fantastic supporting their team and we’re looking forward to them coming out to create an electric atmosphere for this game as well.”

The three-match window in question will see the USWNT take on the Republic of Ireland on June 26 and 29 in Colorado and Ohio respectively. This window will follow two further friendly doubleheaders against Brazil in April - for which Hayes recently named a largely unchanged roster - and China in May.

This is all in aid of Hayes’ preparations for the highly anticipated 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The Continental Clásico will mark both Hayes and Canada head coach Casey Stoney’s first games against one another as National Team head coaches - with the English coaches having faced off against one another during their Women’s Super League days. It will also mark the 67th game between the USWNT and the CWNT since 1986, with the U.S. dominating the fixture 53-4-9. In fact, their Canadian neighbors haven’t won the head-to-head since 2000.

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“Facing the Olympic champions will be a great test for us. They were the best in the world in 2024 and will challenge us in areas we haven’t been tested in yet this year,” Stoney said. “This will be a great opportunity to test ourselves and give us a barometer of where we are and what work we need to do to progress and prepare for the future.”

The USWNT may be the reigning Olympic champions, but in their most recent competition, the SheBelieves Cup, they wound up finishing second behind Japan, losing the title they had held for five years prior. That being said, the Cup was largely used as a proving ground for young talent, with Hayes naming four uncapped players, four teenagers, and 10 for whom it was their first experience in the competition.

In the end, 22 of the 23 players called up wound up receiving game-time, with Hayes saying after their 2-1 loss to Japan, “I think we look through the lens of our objectives and say, listen, we've certainly looked at our players in this setting and we've definitely got a better understanding of where they are within that journey and, as I've said before, we have to look at which players are ready for now and which players are ready for later, and which ones will go with the 23s and which ones will develop with us.”