With the Olympics underway in Italy, plenty of old (heated) rivalries are back and better than ever, ready for another chapter. In team sports, the United States and Canada are primed for two weeks of intense competition — particularly in the men's and women's hockey tournaments as both teams set their eyes on gold.

The first iteration of the 2026 USA-Canada Olympic showdown is in the books, with Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin taking a close 7-5 win for Team USA in a mixed doubles curling round-robin match on Feb. 6.

Next up are the nations' women's hockey teams: two powerhouse units with enough history and collective hardware to fill several trophy shelves, led by superstar captains Hillary Knight (USA) and Marie-Philip Poulin (CAN).

For the athletes, any chance to take on their closest rivals is a golden opportunity. At the Olympics, that opportunity gets even sweeter.

"It's intense. It's personal. Whether I play with these people or play against them, they're some of the best. It's what gets you up in the morning," U.S. forward Taylor Heise told NBCOlympics.com. "The 6 a.m. in the middle of June, like, what? What gets you up to go do that? Realizing that you're going to play a game against Canada in the middle of October, November, and you got to be ready to go."

On the men's side, hockey fans will have to wait for a potential USA-Canada showdown. The two teams will begin their quests for gold in different groups, and a potential matchup would come in the tournament's knockout rounds.

Nonetheless, with NHL players back on Olympic ice, the potential competition holds plenty of promise. The last time the two teams met was at the 4 Nations face-off in February 2025: a tournament which feature marquee fights and high tension on route to Team Canada's ultimate tournament victory.

While the United States and Canada may not be the same dominant forces on the curling ice as they are in the hockey rink, both the men's and women's tournaments will feature a head-to-head battle before the two teams in the opening rounds.

Of course, these group stage matches won't necessarily be the last we see of the U.S. and Canada facing off at the Milan Cortina Games. With all tournaments still in the opening stages (or waiting to begin), no one knows what the knockout rounds will hold. For hockey, it feels almost inevitable that the two teams will find each other when the stakes are highest. In curling, anything remails possible.

Read below to find every (planned) upcoming showdown between the two North American neighbors at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Games.