28 November 1885 - The First International International

On 28 November 1885, the United States hosted Canada in the first international match to be played outside the United Kingdom. Canada won, 0-1.

The match, played in New Jersey, predated the formation of both the Canadian and American football federations. Instead, Canada's Western Football Association arranged the contest with the unofficial governing body of US football, the American Football Association. As a result, both countries consider it an unofficial international.

According to the match report in the New York Times, the match was "played according to the American Association rules," but they conferred no advantage to the hosts, who went down 0-1 in the tenth minute. After that goal, a correspondent for the Globe of Toronto said "the balance of the game was simply an exhibition of reckless kicking and rough and tumble play." A fistfight broke out between a couple of players.

Canada's goalkeeper, J. N. McKendrick, was outstanding and repeatedly denied the Americans' attempts on goal as the match ended as a Canadian victory.

The match was such a success that a repeat was scheduled the following year on the same pitch, with the US winning 3-2.

(For more details on the match, visit Richard Whittal's excellent blog, A More Splendid Life.)

17 November 1904 - Canada Takes The Gold. Kind Of.

On 17 November 1904, Canada won the Olympic gold medal in football. Except there wasn't really a gold medal. And it wasn't really Canada.

The 1904 Olympiad in Saint Louis, Missouri--held to coincide with the St. Louis World's Fair--was the second one to include football, but even then, it wasn't officially a medal sport. And the competing teams weren't there as national teams, but were instead amateur club sides. Only three teams participated--Christian Brothers College and St. Rose Parish, both from local St. Louis amateur leagues, and Galt FC, from the Western Football Association of Ontario. They played a round-robin, with the winner of the tournament being the team with the best record.

Galt were an experienced side, having been founded in either 1881 or 1882 (the records aren't precise). They were also three-time winners of the Ontario Cup from 1901 to 1903. Their quality was too great for the American sides; in the first match, on 16 November, Galt rolled over Christian Brothers, 7-0, with a hat-trick from Alexander Hall, a brace from Gordon McDonald, and a goal each from Frederick Steep and Thomas Taylor. St. Rose fared slightly better, losing 4-0 in the second match on 17 November (Taylor scored twice, while the other two scores came from Albert Hendersen and William Twaits).

That was enough to declare Galt the champions, even though Christian Brothers and St. Rose had yet to play against each other (which they did three times, after two scoreless draws). The St. Louis World's Fair Department of Physical Culture awarded gold medals--but not official Olympic gold medals--to the Galt players.

The International Olympic Committee later upgraded the 1904 tournament to official status and retroactively awarded the gold medal to Canada.

15 August 1993 - Schwarzer Saves The Day

On 15 August 1993, goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer made his first start for Australia in dramatic fashion, saving two penalties in a shootout to advance the Socceroos past Canada in a World Cup qualifier. 

Playing his club ball at the time for the Marconi Stallions in Sydney, Schwarzer had come on as a substitute in the qualifier's first leg, a 2-1 Canadian win in Edmonton, when Australia's starting keeper, Robbie Zabica, was sent off for a foul in the 17th minute. For the second leg in Sydney, manager Eddie Thomson looked to the 20-year old Schwarzer for the start. 

Australia looked the better side in the first half and were rewarded with a dynamic bicycle-kick goal from striker Frank Farina in the 44th minute to take a 1-0 lead. Canada equalized shortly after the break, but Australia's Mehmet Durakovic leveled the aggregate score at 3-3 with a high arcing header from just inside the box in the 76th minute. 

In the penalty shootout, Australia went up 2-1 after Schwarzer saved a shot from striker Alex Bunbury, diving low to his right to swat the ball away. Australia went up 3-1 and then Schwarzer made his second save of the day. He guessed incorrectly and dove to his left, but still managed to get his right hand on the ball, which came straight down the middle. Farina scored on the next kick to give Australia the win in the shootout by the margin of 4-1. 

Australia were eliminated by Argentina in the next playoff round. Schwartzer did not play in those matches, but returned in 1994 and made a total of 109 appearances for the Socceroos before retiring in 2013. 

9 March 2011 - Canada Claims Their Cup

On 9 March 2011, a 99th-minute goal from defender Emily Zurrer gave Canada their third Cyprus Cup in four years, beating the Netherlands 2-1 (aet).

Established in 2008, the Cyprus Cup is a women's invitational competition in Cyprus featuring national teams from around the world. Canada won the first edition, then finished as runners-up to England in 2009 before winning it again in 2010.

Twelve teams participated in 2011, split into three groups of four. At the end of the group stage, the teams were paired up in various combinations in the placement round, with the winners of Groups A and B playing for the title. That year, Canada and the Netherlands were those two teams, with each winning all of their group matches.

In the final, the Canadians took a 20th-minute lead with a goal from Jonelle Filigno. But Dutch striker Claudia van den Heiligenberg drew the Netherlands level twenty minutes later. The teams went to extra time, where Zurrer won the match with only the second goal of her international career (she had scored the first one, also a match-winner, just one week earlier in Canada's opening group stage victory over Scotland).

The win also tipped Canada's all-time winning percentage over .500, giving them a record of 110 wins, 109 losses, and 34 draws.

Canada returned to the final again in 2012, but lost to France, 0-2.

9 November 2002 - Hamm's Golden Chip

On 9 November 2002, the United States claimed their second consecutive Gold Cup with a 94th-minute goal from Mia Hamm in the Final against Canada.

The Final was a match-up of the tournaments two juggernauts, with both sides winning all of their earlier matches and conceding only a single goal between them (in Canada's 11-1 victory over Haiti in the group stage). The two teams also had a history against each other, with Canada losing to the US in the 1991 and 1994 CONCACAF Women's Championship before winning the title in 1998.

Playing before a crowd of just under 7,000 on a rain and fog-filled night at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, the US took the lead with a shot from forward Tiffeny Milbrett. Canadian striker Charmaine Hooper equalized in first-half stoppage time, scoring the tournament's only goal against the US. The match appeared to be headed for extra time when Hamm, whose injured shin had limited her role to that of second-half substitute, chipped Canada's keeper from 18 yards out for the win.

By reaching the Final, both teams qualified for the 2003 Women's World Cup. There, they met in the third place match, with the US winning again, 3-1.

6 May 1990 - They Could Change The National Anthem To "1-0, Canada!"

On 6 May 1990, hosts Canada kicked off the 1990 North American Nations Cup with a 1-0 win over the United States.

Organized by the North American Football Confederation, the competition has been played only four times - 1947, 1949, 1990, and 1991 - with each tournament consisting of three teams. Canada, despite being a member of the NAFC, did not participate in either of the first two, both of which were won by Mexico.

After a 41-year break, the NAFC resurrected the Cup, which was hosted that year by Canada and included the United States and Mexico. Although both Canada and Mexico fielded full-strength teams, the US sent a B squad as their preparations for the US-hosted 1990 World Cup led to fixture congestion. As a result, the US does not consider the 1990 North American Nations Cup matches as official results.

Official or not, Canadian striker John Catliff scored the match's only goal to give his side the 1-0 win. Catliff had played for Harvard University, where he was selected to the 1986 All-America first team, before moving to the Canadian Soccer League in 1987. He went on to win the tournament for the Canadians, scoring both goals in their 2-1 win over Mexico on 13 May.

The US finally won the trophy in 1991, after which the North American Nations Cup was replaced by the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

8 November 1925 - A Stark Contrast

On 8 November 1925, Archie Stark made his second and last international appearance, scoring five for the US in a 6-1 win over Canada.

The forward had just come off an incredible 1924-25 season for Bethlehem Steel, scoring 70 goals in 46 appearances across all competitions (67 of those came in his 44 league games). That June, near the end of the season, he got his first cap in a 1-0 loss to Canada in Montreal.

For their next game, the US hosted Canada in Brooklyn, where Stark returned to the national team's starting line-up. There, he regained his club form from the previous season, scoring five goals as the US won 6-1 (Davey Brown scored the other for the US, while Canada's goal came from Gordon Burness).

He went on to have another strong season for Bethlehem Steel, scoring 54 goals in 45 games. The US invited him to join the squad for the 1930 World Cup, but he declined because he was engaged in a new business venture following the dissolution of Bethlehem Steel earlier that year.

6 August 2012 - Better Late Than Never

On 6 August 2012, the US women advanced to the gold medal match thanks to the latest goal ever scored in Olympic history.

The game was the second women's semifinal, with Japan already advancing with a 2-1 win over France. The US were up against neighbors and rivals Canada, who had just eliminated hosts Great Britain in the quarterfinals.

Playing at Old Trafford in Manchester, the two teams traded a pair of goals each from Canada's Christine Sinclair (22', 67') and the US's Megan Rapinoe (54', 70') to remain level deep into the second half. All four goals were impressive, but Rapinoe's were particularly so, as her first goal snuck in directly from a corner kick and her second was a long-range blast off the opposite post from the edge of the penalty area.

Sinclair then completed her hat-trick in the 73rd minute, which also made her the tournament's leading scorer, before US forward Abby Wambach converted an 80th-minute penalty to bring the sides level once again. They remained level into the second half of extra time. Then, in the third minute of stoppage time, US forward Alex Morgan scored with a header to secure the victory.

The US went into the final, where they beat Japan in a rematch of the 2011 World Cup Final. Canada did not go home empty-handed, though, beating France to claim the bronze.



[Photo credit: Jamie McDonald/FIFA/Getty Images]

19 July 2009 - Home Is Where The Hundredth Goal Is

On 19 July 2009, US forward Abby Wambach scored her 100th international goal in a friendly win over Canada. And she did it in record time.

Wambach first joined the national team in 2003 and scored the match-winner in the final of the 2004 Summer Olympics. Three years later, she scored six goals in the World Cup as the US finished third, but she missed the 2008 Summer Olympics with a broken leg.

She recovered in time for the friendly against Canada, held in Wambach's hometown of Rochester, New York. The match remained scoreless deep into the second half until Wambach found the net in the 78th minute (with an assist from Lauren Cheney, who had taken her spot in the squad for the 2008 Olympics).

With the goal, Wambach became the ninth woman in history to score 100 goals. She was the fourth American to do so, but reached the milestone in her 129th cap, faster than any other player in team history.

Since then, she has continued to add to that number, with a current tally of 160 that makes her the team's all-top top scorer.

9 March 2011 - Canada Claims Their Cup

On 9 March 2011, a 99th-minute goal from defender Emily Zurrer gave Canada their third Cyprus Cup in four years, beating the Netherlands 2-1 (aet).

Established in 2008, the Cyprus Cup is a women's invitational competition in Cyprus featuring national teams from around the world. Canada won the first edition, then finished as runners-up to England in 2009 before winning it again in 2010.

Twelve teams participated in 2011, split into three groups of four. At the end of the group stage, the teams were paired up in various combinations in the placement round, with the winners of Groups A and B playing for the title. That year, Canada and the Netherlands were those two teams, with each winning all of their group matches.

In the final, the Canadians took a 20th-minute lead with a goal from Jonelle Filigno. But Dutch striker Claudia van den Heiligenberg drew the Netherlands level twenty minutes later. The teams went to extra time, where Zurrer won the match with only the second goal of her international career (she had scored the first one, also a match-winner, just one week earlier in Canada's opening group stage victory over Scotland).

The win also tipped Canada's all-time winning percentage over .500, giving them a record of 110 wins, 109 losses, and 34 draws.

Canada returned to the final again in 2012, but lost to France, 0-2.

28 November 1885 - The First International International

On 28 November 1885, the United States hosted Canada in the first international match to be played outside the United Kingdom. Canada won, 0-1.

The match, played in New Jersey, predated the formation of both the Canadian and American football federations. Instead, Canada's Western Football Association arranged the contest with the unofficial governing body of US football, the American Football Association. As a result, both countries consider it an unofficial international.

According to the match report in the New York Times, the match was "played according to the American Association rules," but they conferred no advantage to the hosts, who went down 0-1 in the tenth minute. After that goal, a correspondent for the Globe of Toronto said "the balance of the game was simply an exhibition of reckless kicking and rough and tumble play." A fistfight broke out between a couple of players.

Canada's goalkeeper, J. N. McKendrick, was outstanding and repeatedly denied the Americans' attempts on goal as the match ended as a Canadian victory.

The match was such a success that a repeat was scheduled the following year on the same pitch, with the US winning 3-2.

(For more details on the match, visit Richard Whittal's excellent blog, A More Splendid Life.)

17 November 1904 - Canada Takes The Gold. Kind Of.

On 17 November 1904, Canada won the Olympic gold medal in football. Except there wasn't really a gold medal. And it wasn't really Canada.

The 1904 Olympiad in Saint Louis, Missouri--held to coincide with the St. Louis World's Fair--was the second one to include football, but even then, it wasn't officially a medal sport. And the competing teams weren't there as national teams, but were instead amateur club sides. Only three teams participated--Christian Brothers College and St. Rose Parish, both from local St. Louis amateur leagues, and Galt FC, from the Western Football Association of Ontario. They played a round-robin, with the winner of the tournament being the team with the best record.

Galt were an experienced side, having been founded in either 1881 or 1882 (the records aren't precise). They were also three-time winners of the Ontario Cup from 1901 to 1903. Their quality was too great for the American sides; in the first match, on 16 November, Galt rolled over Christian Brothers, 7-0, with a hat-trick from Alexander Hall, a brace from Gordon McDonald, and a goal each from Frederick Steep and Thomas Taylor. St. Rose fared slightly better, losing 4-0 in the second match on 17 November (Taylor scored twice, while the other two scores came from Albert Hendersen and William Twaits).

That was enough to declare Galt the champions, even though Christian Brothers and St. Rose had yet to play against each other (which they did three times, after two scoreless draws). The St. Louis World's Fair Department of Physical Culture awarded gold medals--but not official Olympic gold medals--to the Galt players.

The International Olympic Committee later upgraded the 1904 tournament to official status and retroactively awarded the gold medal to Canada.

15 August 1993 - Schwarzer Saves The Day

On 15 August 1993, goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer made his first start for Australia in dramatic fashion, saving two penalties in a shootout to advance the Socceroos past Canada in a World Cup qualifier.

Playing his club ball at the time for the Marconi Stallions in Sydney, Schwarzer had come on as a substitute in the qualifier's first leg, a 2-1 Canadian win in Edmonton, when Australia's starting keeper, Robbie Zabica, was sent off for a foul in the 17th minute. For the second leg in Sydney, manager Eddie Thomson looked to the 20-year old Schwarzer for the start.

Australia looked the better side in the first half and were rewarded with a dynamic bicycle-kick goal from striker Frank Farina in the 44th minute to take a 1-0 lead. Canada equalized shortly after the break, but Australia's Mehmet Durakovic leveled the aggregate score at 3-3 with a high arcing header from just inside the box in the 76th minute.

In the penalty shootout, Australia went up 2-1 after Schwarzer saved a shot from striker Alex Bunbury, diving low to his right to swat the ball away. Australia went up 3-1 and then Schwarzer made his second save of the day. He guessed incorrectly and dove to his left, but still managed to get his right hand on the ball, which came straight down the middle. Farina scored on the next kick to give Australia the win in the shootout by the margin of 4-1.

Australia were eliminated by Argentina in the next playoff round. Schwartzer did not play in those matches, but returned in 1994 and has since made a total of 90 appearances for the Socceroos.

9 November 2002 - Hamm's Golden Chip

On 9 November 2002, the United States claimed their second consecutive Gold Cup with a 94th-minute goal from Mia Hamm in the Final against Canada.

The Final was a match-up of the tournaments two juggernauts, with both sides winning all of their earlier matches and conceding only a single goal between them (in Canada's 11-1 victory over Haiti in the group stage). The two teams also had a history against each other, with Canada losing to the US in the 1991 and 1994 CONCACAF Women's Championship before winning the title in 1998.

Playing before a crowd of just under 7,000 on a rain and fog-filled night at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, the US took the lead with a shot from forward Tiffeny Milbrett. Canadian striker Charmaine Hooper equalized in first-half stoppage time, scoring the tournament's only goal against the US. The match appeared to be headed for extra time when Hamm, whose injured shin had limited her role to that of second-half substitute, chipped Canada's keeper from 18 yards out for the win.

By reaching the Final, both teams qualified for the 2003 Women's World Cup. There, they met in the third place match, with the US winning again, 3-1.

6 May 1990 - They Could Change The National Anthem To "1-0, Canada!"

On 6 May 1990, hosts Canada kicked off the 1990 North American Nations Cup with a 1-0 win over the United States.

Organized by the North American Football Confederation, the competition has been played only four times - 1947, 1949, 1990, and 1991 - with each tournament consisting of three teams. Canada, despite being a member of the NAFC, did not participate in either of the first two, both of which were won by Mexico.

After a 41-year break, the NAFC resurrected the Cup, which was hosted that year by Canada and included the United States and Mexico. Although both Canada and Mexico fielded full-strength teams, the US sent a B squad as their preparations for the US-hosted 1990 World Cup led to fixture congestion. As a result, the US does not consider the 1990 North American Nations Cup matches as official results.

Official or not, Canadian striker John Catliff scored the match's only goal to give his side the 1-0 win. Catliff had played for Harvard University, where he was selected to the 1986 All-America first team, before moving to the Canadian Soccer League in 1987. He went on to win the tournament for the Canadians, scoring both goals in their 2-1 win over Mexico on 13 May.

The US finally won the trophy in 1991, after which the North American Nations Cup was replaced by the CONCACAF Gold Cup.