Olympic champions Canada announce squad for November window against Mexico

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Olympic champions Canada have announced their Women’s National Team squad for an away camp in Mexico for the upcoming FIFA international window. The 10-day camp from 22 November through 1 December features two international “A” matches against Mexico on Saturday 27 November and Tuesday 30 November. The two international matches will close off a historic season for the Olympic champions.

“Canada’s trip to Mexico is pivotal in our journey towards the 2022 Concacaf Women’s Championship next summer,” said Bev Priestman, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team Head Coach. “This tour will allow us to assess some players for the future and start some of our tactical adjustments ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023. The tight window between matches played at altitude will make for difficult conditions and it is all part of the group building experiences for what is to come in 2022 and beyond.”

The matches will be Canada’s 16th and 17th international “A” matches of the calendar year, with Canada’s record at seven wins, six draws and two losses highlighted with their Gold Medal victory at the Olympic Games. The match on 27 November will be broadcast on www.youtube.com/onesoccer while the 30 November will be broadcast live on OneSoccer including OneSoccer.ca, Fubo.tv and Telus channel 980. While Canada is expected to begin the 2022 season away during the February window, Canada hopes to continue the Women’s National Team Celebration Tour in Canada in the spring in preparation for the 2022 Concacaf Women’s Championship, which serves as both qualifiers for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 and Olympic Games in 2024.

Canada’s competitive history against Mexico dates back to the 1994 Concacaf Women’s Championship in Montréal. In recent years, the two sides have faced each other four times since the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015, with Canada the winners in each of those four matches. Canada won the last match 2:0 at the 2020 Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Edinburg, Texas, which was also Canada’s 400th all-time international “A” match since 1986.

Canada are unbeaten in 12 matches since 9 April in Cardiff, with most recent 5:1 and 1:0 victories over New Zealand as part of the Women’s National Team Celebration Tour. The record unbeaten streak includes wins against Wales and England in April, draws against Czech Republic and Brazil in June, the Gold Medal run in Tokyo against Japan, Chile, Great Britain, Brazil, USA, and Sweden in July and August, and the recent October wins against New Zealand in Ottawa and Montréal.

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 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).

WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM CELEBRATION TOUR
Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team Celebration Tour will continue with home matches in the Spring of 2022, permitting that public health considerations will ensure the safety of all players and fans.

“We can’t wait to be back in Canada to continue the Women’s National Team Celebration Tour, but we will continue to push forward with important matches during the FIFA international window in November,” said Bev Priestman, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team Head Coach. “Tokyo’s Gold Medal was incredible, but the way in which we got to celebrate with our fans in October made for unbelievable memories that will continue to spur us onto new heights. We can’t wait to be back in the spring on home soil to continue our journey and share the celebration with different parts of the country and our incredibly loyal fans.”

WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM SQUAD
Eighteen of Canada’s 22 Olympic champions will be in uniform for Canada during the November international break, including all-time record holder Christine Sinclair who has scored 188 goals in 306 international “A” matches. Sinclair, one of four three-time Olympic medal winners in the November squad, recently led Portland Thorns FC to the NWSL Shield and a semi-final finish in the playoffs.

Alongside Sinclair, the other three-time Olympic medal winners in the Canada squad are Sophie Schmidt of Houston Dash and Desiree Scott of Kansas City Current. Other multiple Olympic medal winners are Kadeisha Buchanan of Olympique Lyonnais, Allysha Chapman of Houston Dash, Jessie Fleming of Chelsea FC, Stephanie Labbé and Ashley Lawrence of Paris Saint-Germain FC, Erin McLeod of Orlando Pride, Nichelle Prince of Houston Dash, Quinn of OL Reign, Deanne Rose of Reading FC, and Shelina Zadorsky of Tottenham Hotspur. Like Sinclair, Quinn recently helped their professional side OL Reign reach the NWSL playoff semi-finals.

The five other Olympic champions in the Canada squad for November are Vanessa Gilles of FC Girondins de Bordeaux, Julia Grosso from the University of Texas, Jordyn Huitema of Paris Saint-Germain FC, and both Kailen Sheridan and Evelyne Viens of NJ/NY Gotham FC. Unavailable for the November camp are Janine Beckie and Adriana Leon for medical reasons as well as both Gabrielle Carle and Jayde Riviere through school commitments.

Of the eight additional players called into the November camp, Amanda West from the University of Pittsburgh has been called into the Women’s National Team for the first time while Sura Yekka from Havre AC in France has been called up for the first time since 2015. The other November call ups are Sabrina D’Angelo of Vittsjö GIK in Sweden, Cloé Lacasse of SL Benfica in Portugal, Marie Levasseur of Fleury FC in France, Victoria Pickett from Kansas City Current in the NWSL, Jade Rose from Harvard University, and Nikayla Small from Wake Forest University.

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Olympic champions Canada announce squad for November window against Mexico