News
News May 09, 2019

Canada selects squad for send-off match in Toronto ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™

Canada Soccer supporters will be in full voice when Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team faces Concacaf rivals Mexico at BMO Field in Toronto on Saturday 18 […]

Canada Soccer supporters will be in full voice when Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team faces Concacaf rivals Mexico at BMO Field in Toronto on Saturday 18 May. The match will serve as Canada’s official send-off match before this summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™ as well as an important tune up before final squad selections are confirmed at the end of the month. The match also provides fans with an opportunity to watch Christine Sinclair on home soil as she closes in on the International goal scoring record of 184 goals.
 
The Canada-Mexico match kicks off at 13.00 local at BMO Field in downtown Toronto and will be broadcast live on TSN, RDS and OneSoccer (13.00 ET / 10.00 PT). For fans, this will be one last chance to show your support for Canada before they head to Europe for their pre-competition training camp ahead of the 10 June FIFA Women’s World Cup™ group opener against Cameroon in Montpellier, France. Tickets to the Toronto match start as low $20 via Ticketmaster.ca. A special ‘Me+3’ ticket offer is also available with complete ticketing information available via migmultidev-canada-soccer.pantheonsite.io/tickets.
 
“Heading into an away FIFA Women’s World Cup, we hope that the echo from our Canadian fans back home will carry us through our month in France,” said Kenneth Heiner-Møller, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team Head Coach and Women’s National EXCEL Director. “The players are really looking forward to having the fans cheering for us, so we will put on a show and give us the momentum as we head to France. It is important that both our performance and fan support at our send-off match in Toronto has a resounding effect on our players for a long period of time.”

 
While the final FIFA Women’s World Cup™ roster will be announced later this month, Canada has called in a squad of 22 players for the home international match in Toronto. The squad features a mix of veterans and young players, including teenagers Julia Grosso, Jayde Riviere, Jordyn Huitema, and first-time call up Jade Rose.
 
In all 13 of the 22 players in Toronto are hoping to make their FIFA Women’s World Cup™ debut this June. Alongside the four teenagers, other potential FIFA Women’s World Cup™ debutants are Lindsay Agnew, Janine Beckie, Gabrielle Carle, Vanessa Gilles, Nichelle Prince, Rebecca Quinn, Deanne Rose, Kailen Sheridan, and Shelina Zadorsky.
 
Veterans in the Toronto squad, all of whom helped Canada finish in sixth place at the record-setting FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™, are captain Christine Sinclair, Allysha Chapman, Jessie Fleming, Stephanie Labbé, Ashley Lawrence, Adriana Leon, Diana Matheson, Sophie Schmidt, and Desiree Scott.
 
Sinclair, who has three goals in five games thus far in 2019, has 180 international goals in her career, and 16 career goals against Mexico. Sinclair has had four multi-goal games against Mexico in her career. 
 
TORONTO SQUAD & PROFILES : http://canadasoccer.com/?t=project&sid=1288
 
While also considering players who are still action with their professional clubs in Europe, coach Heiner-Møller will select his final 23-player FIFA Women’s World Cup™ roster in the week following the 18 May match in Toronto.
 
CANADA TO FACE MEXICO IN MAY
Concacaf rivals Canada and Mexico have a long history against each other in international competition, with Canada winning each of the last three matches since January 2015. The two sides have also faced each other twice in Concacaf finals, with Canada winning the 1998 Concacaf Women’s Championship 1:0 in Toronto and the 2010 Concacaf Women’s Championship 1:0 in Cancún.
 
While Canada have qualified for seven consecutive editions of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™, Mexico will miss out on this summer’s finals after being eliminated in the group stage of last year’s Concacaf Women’s Championship. Mexico now have their sights set on next year’s Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifiers from which two Concacaf nations will qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
 
“We have been improving throughout the year so we are excited about this test ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup,” said Heiner-Møller. “Mexico are preparing for next year’s Concacaf Olympic Qualifiers and want to find a way to get ahead of us in 2020, so we need to be ready to send a message that we are still one of the top-two nations in Concacaf.”
 
CANADA AT THE FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP FRANCE 2019™
Following Canada’s 10 June opener against Cameroon in Montpellier, Canada will face New Zealand on 15 June in Grenoble and Netherlands on 20 June in Reims. Beyond the group phase, two or three nations from Canada’s group will advance to the Round of 16 with those initial knock-out matches to be played from 23-25 June. Beyond the Round of 16, the Quarter-finals are 27-29 June, the Semi-finals are 2-3 July, and the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™ Final in 7 July.
 
CANADA AT THE FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP : http://canadasoccer.com/?t=project&sid=1272
 
Fans are encouraged to be part of Canada’s journey at the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ from 10 June to 7 July by watching all the action live on TSN and RDS. Fans can also follow the Women’s National Team both on and off the pitch across Canada Soccer’s digital channels including CanadaSoccer.com, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
 
OLYMPIC MEDAL WINNERS & CONCACAF CHAMPIONS
Canada are two-time Olympic bronze medal winners (2012 and 2016) and two-time Concacaf champions (1998 and 2010). In all, Canada have participated in seven consecutive editions of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ (1995 to 2019) and three consecutive editions of the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament (2008 to 2016). At Rio 2016, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team were the first Canadian Olympic team to win back-to-back medals at a summer Olympic Games in more than a century.
 
WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM: https://canadasoccer.com/women-s-national-team-p144312
 
Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Youth Teams, meanwhile, have won four Concacaf youth titles: the 2004 and 2008 Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship, the 2010 Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Championship, and the 2014 Concacaf Girls’ Under-15 Championship. Canada have qualified for seven editions of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup (including a silver medal at Canada 2002) and all six editions of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup (including a fourth-place finish at Uruguay 2018).
 
CANADA IN TORONTO
12- F- Christine Sinclair | USA / Portland Thorns FC
1- GK- Stephanie Labbé | USA / NC Courage
2- FB- Allysha Chapman | USA / Houston Dash
4- CB- Shelina Zadorsky | USA / Orlando Pride
5- CB- Rebecca Quinn | FRA / Paris FC
6- W- Deanne Rose | USA / University of Florida
7- M- Julia Grosso | CAN / University of Texas at Austin
8- M- Diana Matheson | USA / Utah Royals FC
9- F- Jordyn Huitema | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite REX
10- FB- Ashley Lawrence | FRA / Paris Saint-Germain
11- M- Desiree Scott | USA / Utah Royals FC
13- M- Sophie Schmidt | USA / Houston Dash
14- FB- Jayde Riviere | CAN / Markham SC & Ontario Super REX
15- W- Nichelle Prince | USA / Houston Dash
16- W- Janine Beckie | ENG / Manchester City FC
17- M- Jessie Fleming | USA / UCLA
19- W- Adriana Leon | ENG / West Ham United FC
21- GK- Kailen Sheridan | USA / Sky Blue FC
22- FB- Lindsay Agnew | USA / Houston Dash
23- F- Gabrielle Carle | USA / Florida State University
24- CB- Vanessa Gilles | FRA / FC Girondins de Bordeaux
25- CB- Jade Rose | CAN / Unionville Milliken SC & Ontario Super REX
 
CANADA A-Z
Name | Age | City in which they grew up | Active start/first club
Agnew, Lindsay | 24 | Kingston, ON, CAN & Dublin, OH, USA | Byron Optimist SC
Beckie, Janine | 24 | Highlands Ranch, CO, USA | Real Colorado
Carle, Gabrielle | 20 | Lévis, QC, CAN | AS Chaudière-Est
Chapman, Allysha | 30 | Courtice, ON, CAN | 
Fleming, Jessie | 21 | London, ON, CAN | Nor’West Optimist SC
Gilles, Vanessa | 22 | Ottawa, ON, CAN | Ottawa Capital United
Grosso, Julia | 18 | Vancouver, BC, CAN | Italian Canadian Sports Federation Youth Soccer
Huitema, Jordyn | 18 | Chilliwack, BC, CAN | Chilliwack FC
Labbé, Stephanie | 32 | Stony Plain, AB, CAN | Spruce Grove Saints
Lawrence, Ashley | 23 | Caledon East, ON, CAN | Brams United SC
Leon, Adriana | 26 | Maple and King City, ON, CAN | Vaughan Azzuri
Matheson, Diana | 35 | Oakville, ON, CAN | Oakville SC
Prince, Nichelle | 24 | Ajax, ON, CAN | Ajax SC
Quinn, Rebecca | 23 | Toronto, ON, CAN | North Toronto SC
Riviere, Jayde | 18 | Markham, ON, CAN | West Rouge SC
Rose, Deanne | 20 | Alliston, ON, CAN | Alliston SC
Rose, Jade | 16 | Markham, ON, CAN | Markham SC
Schmidt, Sophie | 30 | Abbotsford, BC, CAN | Abbotsford
Scott, Desiree | 31 | Winnipeg, MB, CAN | Maples Cougars
Sheridan, Kailen | 23 | Whitby, ON, CAN | Pickering SC
Sinclair, Christine | 35 | Burnaby, BC, CAN | South Burnaby Metro Club Bees
Zadorsky, Shelina | 26 | London, ON, CAN | Kitchener