PREVIEW: 3 CanWNT stars take centre stage in 25/26 UWCL semi-finals
The UEFA Women’s Champions League returns this weekend, as the first leg of the semi-finals will take place on Saturday and Sunday, with both games LIVE on OneSoccer.
There, four teams will compete to reach the final of the 2025-2026 tournament, which will be held in Oslo on May 23rd, with OL Lyonnes and Arsenal set to do battle in one semi-final, and Barcelona and Bayern Munich meeting in the other.
As it stands, this has been a solid tournament for Canadian players, too, and that’s going to continue into the final, which is guaranteed to feature at least one CanWNT player.
The biggest stage. The toughest battles. The pressure is ON. 💎
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) April 21, 2026
Watch CanWNT 🇨🇦 stars compete in the UEFA Women's Champions League semi-finals – Leg 1 this weekend on OneSoccer 📺 pic.twitter.com/oyefkqRUFl
Now, it remains to be seen whether or not a Canadian will lift the trophy, joining Kadeisha Buchanan as the only other Canadian winner of this tournament, but the odds are certainly favourable.
Because of that, it’ll be fascinating to see how these semi-finals play out. After a thrilling quarter-final round, it’s hoped that the semi-finals can similarly deliver in terms of entertainment value, setting up what is hoped to be a great final, no matter who features.
On that note, here’s what you need to know about each matchup from a Canadian perspective.
OL Lyonnes vs. Arsenal:
With two Canadians featuring in this matchup, one on each team, this tie is guaranteed to yield a Canadian finalist, as Ashley Lawrence looks to power a Lyonnes side that has won this competition a record eight times to another final, while Olivia Smith is hoping to help defending champions Arsenal to a second straight final.
CanWNT 🇨🇦 stars clash on the grandest stage in football ✨
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) April 22, 2026
⚽️ Arsenal vs. OL Lyonnes
🏟️ #UWCL Semi-Finals, Leg 1
🗓️ Sunday, April 26
⏰ 10:30AM ET / 7:30AM PT
📺 OneSoccer 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/5f1GMV7QY5
On paper, Lyonnes holds a slight advantage over Arsenal, as they’ve had a better record in this competition this year and are cruising domestically, but that won’t bother Arsenal, who used their ability to thrive as underdogs en route to winning the 2024-2025 Champions League crown.
Because of that, it’ll be fascinating to see where both teams are able to grab an edge in this tie.
For Lyonnes, their key to success is simple - they have to use their pedigree to their advantage. It might sound simple, but sometimes, winning big games like this can come down to a team’s ability to channel their experience in big moments, and this Lyonnes side is more than familiar with what it takes to win games like this.
Armed with a squad filled with players who have won at the highest level, there’s no reason why they should be afraid of this sort of stage - in fact, given that they haven’t won the Champions League since 2022 (which was their eighth Champions League title in a span of 12 seasons), falling short in their last visit to the final in 2024, there will be of extra hunger within this Lyonnes side to return to past heights, too.
Certainly, Lawrence would love to see that happen, as she’s not had the opportunity to play in as many big Champions League games as hoped in her career (especially compared to some of her current teammates), having only joined Lyonnes this season. In fact, she knows what it’s like to lose a Champions League final to Lyonnes, as she lost to them in the 2016-2017 final while playing for their domestic rivals, Paris Saint-Germain.
With Lyonnes on track to cruise to another domestic league title and into the final of the Coupe de France, Lawrence will hope to help her side complete the treble, having found some good form as of late. 
Meanwhile, for Arsenal, their big objective will be to channel what worked for them last year. No one would’ve ever thought that they’d beat this same Lyonnes side at this stage last year, before beating a dominant Barcelona in the final, so why not make that happen again?
Of course, doing that isn’t always so simple. As mentioned earlier, Arsenal haven’t been as sharp as some of the other top teams this season - they sit third in the WSL (11 points behind leaders Manchester City), and bowed out of the League Cup in the semi-finals to Manchester United, and the FA Cup in the quarter-final to Brighton, although they did win the inaugural FIFA W Champions Cup.
Therefore, while the Champions Cup win was seen as a big success, that lack of domestic silverware will bring added pressure given that they were expected to use last year’s Champions League triumph (which was the only trophy they won in 2024-2025) to be a bit more competitive within England, having only won two domestic trophies (a pair of League Cups) since the start of the 2019-2020 season.
So while winning the Champions League last year will more than ease their frustrations of not having won more domestically (as well as the recent Champions Cup triumph), they’ll want to find a way to repeat the trick, as there’s no doubt that a second consecutive Champions League triumph will shut down any rumblings about a lack of domestic success.
To help them do that, Olivia Smith is expected to play a big role, as the 21-year-old, who Arsenal splashed a then-world record fee to bring in last summer, has been fantastic this campaign. Sitting with nine goals and three assists, she’d love to add to that in this tie, no matter if she’s starting or coming off the bench. 
So overall, this is definitely a tie worth watching from a Canadian perspective. Can Lawrence return to the Champions League final almost a decade after her only appearance at this stage? Or can Smith qualify for her first final by helping the defending champions repeat their success from last year?
It remains to be seen.
Leg 1: Arsenal vs. Lyonnes, Sunday, April 26th, Emirates Stadium (10:30 a.m. ET)
Leg 2: Lyonnes vs. Arsenal, Saturday, May 2nd, Parc Olympique Lyonnais (9:00 a.m. ET)
Barcelona vs. Bayern Munich:
Meanwhile, in the other tie, one Canadian will do battle, as Vanessa Gilles is hoping to help lead Bayern Munich to their first-ever Champions League final.
🇩🇪 The German champions 🆚 the Spanish champions 🇪🇸#UWCL pic.twitter.com/52DxFQVngs
— UEFA Women’s Champions League (@UWCL) April 2, 2026
If she’s to help them do that, however, an extremely stiff test awaits in the form of Barcelona, who many are expecting to return to their seventh Champions League final in eight years, especially after seeing the three-time winners lose to Arsenal last year (missing out on an opportunity to win a third straight Champions League title in the process).
Given that when these teams met on the first matchday of the group stage, Barcelona picked up a 7-1 win at home over Bayern, that gives an idea of the challenge that Gilles’s side faces in this tie.
Yet, that shows what the objective will be for Bayern in this matchup- to wipe away the painful memories of that fall defeat. They’ve done that quite well up to this point, as they won four and drew one of their next five group stage games after that Barcelona defeat, before beating Manchester United in the quarter-final, but they’ll now need to channel that same energy against a Barcelona team that has cruised to this stage.
They’ll have to accept the fact that they’re significant underdogs, but that could always play into their favour - perhaps, they could channel what Arsenal did in last year’s final, for example.
If they’re to do that, however, Gilles will have to play a massive role in this tie, as she’s the exact sort of player that can hit another level in these sorts of matches. With her excellent defensive play and dominant aerial presence, she can decide a game in both boxes, something that could help Bayern in a big way against a Barcelona team that is about as balanced as any in world football. 
She’s played a big role in helping get Bayern to this stage, as they’ve already won the league title and are into the final of the DFB Pokal, so she’ll hope she has more to do in this tie.
On paper, everyone is expecting Barcelona to cruise to a treble, as they’ve also won their league and are into the final of the Copa Del Reina (sidenote, it’s impressive that three of the four remaining UWCL semi-finalists can all win continental trebles), so it’ll be up to Bayern to find a way to rewrite that script.
Leg 1: Bayern Munich vs. Barcelona Saturday, April 25th, Allianz Arena (12:15 p.m. ET)
Leg 2: Barcelona vs. Bayern Munich, Sunday, May 3rd, Camp Nou (10:30 a.m. ET)
