Canada wraps up 2023 SheBelieves Cup after after loss to Japan

Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team wrapped up their first international window of the 2023 season following an 0:3 loss to Japan at the SheBelieves Cup on Wednesday afternoon. Across three matches, it was a win and two losses following an 0:2 loss to USA on Thursday 16 February and a 2:0 win over Brazil on Sunday 19 February.

Canada will face France in the next international window on Tuesday 11 April at the stade Marie-Marvingt du Mans. The April match will be Canada’s 16th international “A” match against France, who like Canada’s three February opponents are currently preparing for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™. This will be the first time in three years that these two nations will meet on the international stage.

“It was a tough day at the office and there will be some learnings, but I don’t mind losing as long as we learn from that,” said Bev Priestman, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team Head Coach. “We got to see some players and partnerships, but with changing partnerships, mistakes and errors will happen. We have to look forward to the April camp and be ready to come in energised and focused.”

MATCH CENTRE & MATCH REPORT : https://canadasoccer.com/national-team-match-upcoming/?matchId=3375

CAN 0 : 3 JPN
2023-02-22 Frisco, Texas
Toyota Stadium att.xx
Referee / Arbitre : Danielle Chesky, (Jennifer Garner, Tiff Turpin, Katja Koroleva)

Goals / Buts
JPN 26′ Kiko Seike (right foot / pied droit) 1-0 (a.Rikako Kobayashi)
JPN 40′ Yui Hasegawa (PK right foot / pied droit) 2-0 
JPN 77′ Jun Endo (left foot / pied gauche) 3-0 (a .Hinata Miyazawa)

CANADA –  18 GK Sabrina D’Angelo INJ (1 GK Kailen Sheridan 30′), 10 Ashley Lawrence, 4 Shelina Zadorsky, 3 Kadeisha Buchanan, 21 Jade Rose (6 Gabrielle Carle HT), 7 Julia Grosso, 17 Jessie Fleming (11 Clarissa Larisey  67′) , 12 Christine Sinclair capt. (9 Jordyn Huitema HT), 20 Cloé Lacasse (13 Sophie Schmidt 55′), 16 Janine Beckie, 15 Evelyne Viens (19 Adriana Leon HT). Coach / Entraîneure Bev Priestman. Unused substitutes / substituts non utilisés:  22 GK Lysianne Proulx; 2 Allysha Chapman, 5 Quinn, 8 SImi Awujo,14 Vanessa Gilles, 23 Jenna Hellstrom.

Performance of the Match / Performance du match:
Cloé Lacasse

Canada will face Nigeria, Republic of Ireland and Australia in the group phase of the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™. Drawn into Group B at the Official Draw on Saturday 22 October, this will mark Canada’s eighth consecutive participation at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the world’s largest single-sport, women’s sporting event which expands to 32 nations in 2023.

Canada’s schedule begins with Nigeria on Friday 21 July in Melbourne, continues with Republic of Ireland on Wednesday 26 July in Perth, and finishes with Australia on Monday 31 July in Melbourne. Matches will be broadcast live on TSN and RDS.  Fans will find extended coverage for the matches across Canada Soccer’s digital channels on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube featuring the hashtag #CANWNT.

Following the group phase, the Round of 16 will be Monday 7 August in Brisbane or Sydney, the Quarter-Finals will be Saturday 12 August in Brisbane or Sydney, the Semi-Finals will be Wednesday 16 August in Sydney, and the Final will be Sunday 20 August also in Sydney.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™, which will be held from 20 July 2023 to 20 August 2023, will see 30 nations join the hosts Australia and New Zealand who have already qualified for the biggest tournament in the world. The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 will be a tournament of firsts. In 2023, fans will see 32 nations playing 64 matches across nine host cities in Australia and New Zealand for the first time in Women’s World Cup history.

CANADA SOCCER’S WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM
Canada are Olympic champions (Tokyo in 2021), two-time 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 four consecutive editions of the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament (2008 to 2021). At Tokyo 2020, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team became the first Canadian team to win three consecutive medals at the Summer Olympic Games and just the third nation in the world to win three medals in women’s soccer.

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 eight editions of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup (including a silver medal at Canada 2002) and all seven editions of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup (including a fourth-place finish at Uruguay 2018).