PREVIEW: The CanWNT continues busy 2026 with away test against Costa Rica

The CanWNT continues their road towards the Concacaf Championships this fall with another tune-up friendly, as they’ll take on Costa Rica in Cartago on Tuesday. 

After kicking off 2026 with a pair of three-game windows in March and April, this June window will be a change of pace for Canada, as they’ll only play this one game, which will have given them valuable time on the training ground to work together. 

At the same time, they’ll enter this game wanting to make the most of the opportunity to play together - after this match, they’ll have just one more window to do so, coming in October, before the Concacaf Championships kick off at the end of December. 

Because of that, look for them to make the most of this opportunity, as they take on a solid Costa Rican side, one that won’t be easy to face. 

Costa Rica candids 🇨🇷📹#CANWNT pic.twitter.com/c0ASEAlA8p

— CANWNT (@CANWNT) June 7, 2026

Certainly, the last time these two teams met, Canada got a taste of how difficult this Ticas side can be to beat. The scoreline might not fully reflect that reality, as Canada beat them 4-1 at BMO Field last June, but it’s worth noting that Costa Rica actually scored first in that game and held onto a 1-0 lead until the floodgates opened for Canada in the 70th minute - and that only happened because they won a penalty, one that Shelina Zadorsky converted to get the ball rolling.

Had Canada not won that penalty, you can only wonder if they would’ve been able to win the way they had - although it’s worth noting that they were trending to find a goal of some sort, having spent most of the game on the front foot in chase of that equalizer. 

Can Costa Rica find success in a similar game in this rematch, especially given that it’ll be played on home soil? You have to imagine that’s the case, as they’re also preparing to make a splash at the Concacaf Championships this fall, where they’re looking to qualify for their third World Cup in four editions and their first-ever Olympics. 

With how the format of that tournament is set up, things are lined up nicely for them - they’ve been drawn with Jamaica in the quarter-finals, which, while still a tough matchup, pales in comparison to a potential matchup with the US, Canada or Mexico (Concacaf decided to do a seeded bracket with teams seeded based on their FIFA Ranking, with #1 playing #8, #2 playing #7, #3 playing #6 and #4 playing #5; Costa Rica is ranked #5, and Jamaica #4).  

Given that all that Costa Rica have to do to qualify for the World Cup automatically is win that Jamaica matchup, they’ll feel a lot more optimistic about their chances of doing that than of beating the likes of the US, Canada and Mexico in such a match (and even if they fall short against Jamaica, they’ll have a chance to qualify through the inter-confederation play-offs). 

Plus, Costa Rica enters this tournament in relatively good form after cruising through qualifying. Unlike the US and Canada, who qualified automatically based on their Concacaf ranking, all of the other six teams in the Concacaf Championships, including Costa Rica, had to navigate qualifiers to join them there. 

Costa Rica did pretty well in those games, winning all four by a combined score of 34-1. At the end of the day, while that gives an idea of the level of competition they faced, which included a Cayman Islands side they beat 21-0, you can only beat the teams in front of you, and they did that. 

Perhaps, they can use that to build confidence for the tougher games that await, such as this Canadian matchup or Jamaica in the fall. Costa Rica have proven to be a tough opponent for teams to play - they only lost 2-0 to Mexico in a friendly last fall, with both goals coming in the last 30 minutes of the game, and put up a good fight in a 5-2 defeat to Brazil earlier this year - that same Brazil team beat Canada 1-0 last month, it can’t be forgotten. 

Yet, to return to Canada, that helps give an idea of what to expect in this match. Costa Rica will look to make things tough for them, sitting compactly in their 4-4-2, so the pressure will be on Canada to get on the ball and break things open in possession. 

We are SOOOO back!#CANWNT pic.twitter.com/UbwNmucIXY

— CANWNT (@CANWNT) June 2, 2026

It can’t be forgotten that Canada has struggled against opponents like that lately, as seen with a 0-0 draw they had against Argentina in March, so this will be a good test of what they can produce offensively. 

Therefore, it feels like the goal is simple for this Canadian team - impose themselves on the game, show some quality on the ball, and find a few goals. 

Having had the extra time to train in the lead-up to the match, it’ll be hoped that they can also experiment with some new attacking patterns and partnerships, giving them the offensive thrust they’ll need to break the game open, showing why the emphasis will be on the work they do on the ball more than what they do defensively - they’ve only conceded four goals in six games this year, but have been held scoreless in three of their six games despite scoring 11 goals. 

To that point, one big player to watch for Canada will be Cloé Lacasse, who is off to an excellent start to the season with the Utah Royals. With her form, which has seen her score four goals and generate three assists in 12 games to start the NWSL season, she’ll want to keep that momentum going with a goal in this game - it can’t be forgotten that she hasn’t scored for Canada since 2024, as she missed an extended period of time between 2024 and 2025 with a major knee injury.

From there, it’ll be good to hopefully see Olivia Smith in action, as she made back-to-back starts in Canada’s most recent games - the first time she was able to do that since February of 2025. After a 10-goal, four-assist debut season with Arsenal, she’ll want to translate that form over to Canada, where she’s expected to become one of the team’s leaders going forward. 

Otherwise, between the likes of Janine Sonis, Ashley Lawrence, Jade Rose and Jessie Fleming, Canada will be able to put out a lineup filled with players in strong form, which is encouraging to see. 

If anything, the big question will be to see how experimental head coach Casey Stoney gets with her team - does she choose to shake things up a bit from the start, or does she choose to have fun with the allotment of substitutes she brings into the game? 

Having brought a bit of an older squad to this match, with some of their youngsters unavailable due to other commitments, she’ll want to push some of her veterans to step up and put in commanding performances, knowing that they’ll face stiff competition for places when everyone is available in the fall (as a sidenote, it's encouraging to see that Anabelle Chukwu and Kaylee Hunter, who are currently with Canada's U20s as they prepare for the U20 World Cup in the fall, each score in a recent friendly against Japan, showing why they'd have been in contention to start this game in this window had they been avaialble). 

Yet, what that all shows is that despite there only being one game this window, there is plenty for Canada to take care of in this game. 

Because of that, look for them to make the most of this window, building on the good things they did in their first six games of 2026. From there, that’ll hopefully set them up for a good October window, where they’ll potentially play at home for the first time since last June, and then push them right into the Concacaf Championships not long after.