Tickets going fast for Canada/Germany

It’s still three weeks away but there are relatively few seats available for the Canadian women’s national soccer team’s friendly against Olympic champion Germany at Tim Hortons Field.

A Canada Soccer spokesperson told The Spectator that, as of Thursday, only 1,900 tickets remained for the match between two of the world’s top women’s sides on June 10. With Tim Hortons Field’s capacity for soccer set at just over 23,000, that means that at least 21,000 tickets have already been sold. More than 10,000 of those have come via group (blocks of 20 or more) purchases.

The women’s national team drew 23,197 fans for its 1-0 win over England in late May 2015, in a World Cup tune-up for both sides.

When the game was announced in February, Germany was ranked No. 2 in the world and Canada fifth, but since then Canada has moved up to fourth with 2029 FIFA ranking points, just four fewer than Germany, which has slipped to third. The U.S. is ranked, as usual, at a distant No. 1, but there are only 24 points separating No. 2 England from No. 6 Australia.

The Canadians finished fifth at the recent Algarve Cup in Portugal, despite winning three games and losing only once, to Olympic silver-medalist Sweden, at the group stage.

Canada, which rapidly transformed into a mostly-young team to capture a second consecutive Olympic bronze medal in 2016, will have something to prove in Hamilton. They lost the Rio Olympic semifinal 2-0 to Germany, which then went on to win the gold. Earlier in the Games they had beaten Germany 2-1 for their first victory in 13 attempts (and 22 years) against the formidable foe. Head coach Kenneth HeinerMoller considered that the best game of Ancaster native Melissa Tancredi’s storied international career. Tancredi, who has since retired, had both Canadian goals.

Given the quality of the opposition the Canadians are expected to field their best-possible side, with the likes of veterans such as Christine Sinclair — one of the greatest players in the history of the women’s game — and 2012 Olympic bronze-medal goal scorer Diana Matheson, plus young stars such as 20-year-old midfielder Jessie Fleming of London. Canada’s official lineup will be released within 10 days.

In Hamilton, the women will wear the brand new Canadian national team red jerseys for the first time in a game.