CANWNT roster unveiled ahead of Australia friendlies

Canada announced today their squad for the upcoming international friendly matches against Australia. Canada will face FIFA number 11 ranked Australia on Friday 1 December in Langford and on Tuesday 5 December in Vancouver. Head Coach Bev Priestman has selected a 25-player roster to travel to British Columbia to continue the team’s preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The two matches will mark the final farewell for Canadian soccer icon, Christine Sinclair, as Canada returns to Langford’s Starlight Stadium on Vancouver Island and Vancouver’s BC Place on the mainland. ​ 

“To play another two games against tier one opposition as part of our Paris 24 preparation is exactly what we need,” said Bev Priestman, Women’s National Team Head Coach. “The squad is naturally evolving and tactically getting great exposure before heading into a busy but exciting Olympic Games year. These games are not only critical in our journey but also provide a great platform and occasion to send off three Canadian legends the way they deserve, at home in front of many fans with friends and family present and some of their best mates on the pitch.” ​ ​ 

Canada Soccer will honour Olympic champions Erin McLeod, Sophie Schmidt and Christine Sinclair as part of the home match festivities at Vancouver’s BC Place on 5 December 2023. The three legendary footballers have all left international football after remarkable Canada careers which culminated with an Olympic Gold Medal at Tokyo in 2021. Schmidt and Sinclair plan to make their final international appearance in their home province on 5 December at BC Place. 

The first match, presented by Visa, is Friday 1 December in Langford (19.30 PT / 22.30 ET) which is next to the provincial capital of Victoria on Vancouver Island. The second match, presented by CIBC, is Tuesday 5 December in Vancouver (19.00 PT / 22.00 ET), neighbouring Sinclair’s hometown of Burnaby, British Columbia. Canada Soccer will honour Olympic champions Erin McLeod, Sophie Schmidt and Christine Sinclair as part of the home match festivities at Vancouver’s BC Place on 5 December 2023. Tickets to the highly anticipated 5 December match at BC Place are still available via CanadaSoccer.com. 

The two international matches will provide a crucial opportunity for both sides to prepare for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with Canada already qualified and Australia continuing their qualification series with an AFC Olympic Play-In Series next February 2024. The Matildas are coming off their best-ever, fourth-place finish at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023. 

Against Australia, Canada will have a score to settle after they were eliminated by the FIFA World Cup co-hosts in the group phase on 31 July in the most recent meeting between the two nations. The Australians were 4:0 winners on the day in the group finale at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium. Just last year, Canada were victorious in their two-match series in Brisbane and Sydney, Australia. Adriana Leon scored the 1:0 winner in the first match of the series on 3 September as well as both goals in a come-from-behind 2:1 win three days later on 6 September. ​ 

CANADA’S SQUAD ​
​Canada’s three goalkeepers for the camp are Sabrina D’Angelo from Arsenal FC, Lysianne Proulx from Melbourne City, and Kailen Sheridan from San Diego Wave FC. 

Defenders selected for this series are: Kadeisha Buchanan from Chelsea FC, Gabrielle Carle from Washington Spirit, Sydney Collins from NC Courage, Vanessa Gilles from FCF Olympique Lyonnais, Ashley Lawrence from Chelsea FC, Jayde Riviere from Manchester United FC, Jade Rose from Harvard University, Bianca St-Georges from Chicago Red Stars and Shelina Zadorsky from Tottenham Hotspur. ​ ​ ​ 

​Midfielders joining the team are: Simi Awujo from University of Southern California, Jessie Fleming from Chelsea FC, Julia Grosso from Juventus FC, Quinn from OL Reign, Sophie Schmidt from Houston Dash, ​ ​along with Jeneva Hernandez Gray from Vancouver Whitecaps FC, earning her first senior call up with the national team. ​ ​ 

​The rest of the squad will feature forwards: Jordyn Huitema from OL Reign, Cloé Lacasse from Arsenal FC, Adriana Leon from Manchester United FC, Nichelle Prince from Houston Dash, Christine Sinclair from Portland Thorns FC, Olivia Smith from Sporting CP, and Evelyne Viens from AS Roma 

Out of season injured players Janine Beckie from Portland Thorns and Desiree Scott from the Kansas City Current will both join the team during their stay in British Columbia to continue their return to play. ​ ​ 

Emma Regan from HB Køge and Deanne Rose from Leicester City were unavailable for selection due to injury.

BROADCAST INFORMATION ​ ​ ​ ​ ​
​​Both matches will air live and exclusively on OneSoccer, available on the fuboTV Canada platform, as a linear channel on Telus’s Optik TV (Channel 980), as well as online at OneSoccer.ca and through the OneSoccer app, with the Friday evening match starting at 22.30 ET / 19.30 PT and the Tuesday night match starting at 22.00 ET / 19.00 PT. ​ Fans will find extended coverage across Canada Soccer’s digital channels on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube featuring the hashtag #CANWNT. 

CANADA SQUAD ​ ​ ​ ​
​​GK- Sabrina D’Angelo | ENG / Arsenal FC ​ ​
​​GK- Lysianne Proulx | AUS / Melbourne City FC ​ ​
​​GK- Kailen Sheridan | USA / San Diego Wave FC ​ ​ ​
​CB- Kadeisha Buchanan | ENG / Chelsea FC ​
​CB- Vanessa Gilles | FRA / FCF Olympique Lyonnais
​CB- Jade Rose | USA / Harvard University ​
​CB- Shelina Zadorsky | ENG / Tottenham Hotspur ​
​FB- Gabrielle Carle | USA / Washington Spirit ​
​FB- Sydney Collins | USA / NC Courage ​ ​
​FB- Ashley Lawrence | ENG / Chelsea FC ​
​FB- Jayde Riviere | ENG / Manchester United FC ​
​FB- Bianca St-Georges | USA / Chicago Red Stars ​
​M- Simi Awujo | USA / University of Southern California ​
​​M- Jessie Fleming | ENG / Chelsea FC ​ ​
​​M- Julia Grosso | ITA / Juventus FC ​ ​
​M- Jeneva Hernandez Gray | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC ​
​​M- Quinn | USA / OL Reign ​ ​ ​
​M- Sophie Schmidt | USA / Houston Dash* ​ ​
​​F- Jordyn Huitema | USA / OL Reign ​ ​
​​F- Cloé Lacasse | ENG / Arsenal FC ​ ​
​​F- Adriana Leon | ENG / Aston Villa ​ ​
​​F- Nichelle Prince | USA / Houston Dash ​ ​ ​
​​F- Christine Sinclair | USA / Portland Thorns FC ​ ​ ​
​​F- Olivia Smith | POR / Sporting CP ​ ​ ​
​​F- Evelyne Viens | ITA / AS Roma 

*Sophie Schmidt will join the team on 2 December following the first match of the series. ​ 

CANADA (A-Z) ​  ​ ​
​Player | Age | City in which they grew up | Notable youth clubs ​  ​ ​
​​Nom de joueur | Âge | Lieu où il a grandi | Début d’activité/premier club ​ ​
​Awujo, Simi | she/elle | 19 | Atlanta, GA, USA | AFC Lightning ​
​​Buchanan, Kadeisha | 27 | Brampton, ON, CAN | Brams United SC ​ ​
​​Carle, Gabrielle | 25 | Lévis, QC, CAN | AS Chaudière-Est ​ ​
​​Collins, Sydney | 24 | Beaverton, OR, USA | ​ ​ ​
​​D’Angelo, Sabrina | 30 | Welland, ON, CAN | Welland SC Wizards ​ ​ ​
​​Fleming, Jessie | 25 | London, ON, CAN | Nor’West Optimist SC ​ ​
​​Gilles, Vanessa | 27 | Ottawa, ON, CAN | Ottawa Capital United SC ​ ​
​​Grosso, Julia | 23 | Vancouver, BC, CAN | Vancouver’s Italian Canadian SF ​ ​
​Hernandez Gray, Jeneva | 2006 | Coquitlam, BC, CAN | Port Coquitlam Euro-Rite FC ​
​​Huitema, Jordyn | 22 | Chilliwack, BC, CAN | Chilliwack FC ​
​​Lacasse, Cloé | 30 | Sudbury, ON, CAN | Sudbury ​ ​
​​Lawrence, Ashley | 28 | Caledon East, ON, CAN | Brams United SC ​ ​
​​Leon, Adriana | 31 | Maple and King City, ON, CAN | Vaughan Azzuri ​ ​
​​Prince, Nichelle | 28 | Ajax, ON, CAN | Ajax SC ​ ​
​​Proulx, Lysianne | 24 | Boucherville, QC, CAN | CS Boucherville ​ ​
​​Quinn | 28 | Toronto, ON, CAN | North Toronto SC ​ ​
​​​Riviere, Jayde | 22 | Markham, ON, CAN | West Rouge SC ​ ​
​​Rose, Jade | 20 | Markham, ON, CAN | Markham SC ​ ​
​​Schmidt, Sophie | she/elle | 34 | Abbotsford, BC, CAN | Abbotsford ​ ​
​Sheridan, Kailen | 28 | Whitby, ON, CAN | Pickering SC ​ ​
​​Sinclair, Christine | 40 | Burnaby, BC, CAN | South Burnaby Metro Club Bees ​ ​
​​Smith, Olivia | 19 | Whitby, ON, CAN | Whitby Iroquois SC ​ ​
​​St-Georges, Bianca | 26 | St-Charles-Borommée, QC, CAN | St-Félix De Valois ​ ​
​​Viens, Evelyne | 26 | L’Ancienne-Lorette, QC, CAN | AS Mistral Laurentien ​ ​
​​Zadorsky, Shelina | 31 | Kitchener & London, ON, CAN | Kitchener SC 

CANADA SOCCER’S WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM ​ ​
​​Canada are Olympic champions (Tokyo 2020), 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).