USA vs. Canada: Everything to know about rivalry ahead of Olympic gold game
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Everyone got the matchup they wanted in the men’s hockey Olympic gold medal game.
Sunday, the 46th anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice,” will be the United States versus Canada; This will undoubtedly be the fiercest international competition for all marbles, in all sports.
Unfortunately for Americans, Canada has owned this rivalry since day one.
This will be the eighth time the United States and Canada have played for the Olympic gold medal, and the only time the Americans won was 1960. They also faced each other for the gold in 1920, 1924, 1932, 1952, 2002 and 2010. In the best vs. best format, the USA is 5-15-1, with three of those victories coming in the 1996 World Cup. Hockey.
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Canada’s Brandon Hagel (left) fights with USA’s Matthew Tkachuk during the first period of a 4-Nation Challenge hockey game in Montreal on Saturday, February 15, 2025. (Graham Hughes//Canadian Press, via AP)
The first meeting between the two countries in a best-of-the-best format was at the 1976 Canada Cup, which Team Canada won 4-2. The Americans didn’t get their first win over their northern neighbors until 20 years later, after losing seven of the first eight meetings and drawing the other.
The USA won that year’s World Cup, taking home the best-of-three series against Canada, but has since been mostly dominated by Canada.
Canada has gone 7-2 against the Americans since 1998, with four of those wins being a heartbreak for the United States. Canada took home the 2002 Olympic gold medal against the Americans in Salt Lake City; but more famously, Sidney Crosby’s golden goal eight years later came at the expense of Team USA in front of the Vancouver fans. Four years later, Canada once again defeated the United States in the Olympic semifinals, and last year Canada won the 4-Nation Meet with an overtime victory over the Stars and Stripes.
Team United States’ Matt Boldy and Team Canada’s Sidney Crosby shake hands after the 4 Nations Meet Championship match between Team Canada and Team United States at TD Garden on February 20, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. (World Cup of Hockey via Chase Agnello-Dean/4NFO/Getty Images)
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The United States’ only wins during the aforementioned period were achieved during the group matches of both the 2010 Olympics and last year’s 4Nations. So it’s been a while since Americans have had real bragging rights. Overall, Canada leads the best-of-the-best series at 15-5-1.
These two teams already know each other very well, as both squads are largely comprised of the same members from last year’s 4-Nations. Three fights broke out In the first nine seconds of the nation’s first game against the best in nine years.
Tensions between the two teams and the fans were very high in this tournament as President Donald Trump had just come out.‘s “51st state” comments and tariffs against the country.
Canada’s Sidney Crosby (87) is checked by USA’s Charlie McAvoy (25) as Vincent Trocheck (16) watches during the first period of the 4 Nations Face-Off hockey game in Montreal on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
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But this is the real big stage, where revenge, bragging rights and Olympic gold are at stake.
The gold medal match will be played at 8:10 a.m. ET on Sunday.
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