The history of the Women's World Championship has been characterized by runs of dominance by both Canada and the U.S. over the years. Canada won the gold medal in each of the first eight editions of the tournament from 1990 to 2004, while the U.S. then won nine of the next 11 from 2005 to 2019.

The rivals have faced off for gold at 23 of 24 world championships, including last year's gold-medal game, which Canada won 6-5 in overtime, along with meeting in six of seven Olympic finals.