The sixth-ranked Canadian women's soccer team starts a new chapter in Spain this week with coach Casey Stoney at the helm for the first time.
Canada opens play at the Pinatar Cup against No. 17 China on Wednesday before facing No. 31 Mexico on Saturday and No. 42 Taiwan next Tuesday. All three games will be played at the Pinatar Arena in Murcia.
It promises to be a challenging first step, at least logistically, with some players not arriving in camp until Tuesday. But Stoney has set the tone already.
"My message is about turning the page, moving forward, being open-minded to the new ideas that we're going to bring to the team," the former England captain told a virtual availability. "And about focusing from this day onward and what it takes to prepare to win a World Cup."
Stoney, formerly coach of the Manchester United women and most recently the NWSL's San Diego Wave, was named Canada coach on Jan. 13. She succeeds Bev Priestman, who left Canada Soccer after being sent home as a result of the drone-spying scandal at last summer's Paris Olympics.
That episode was just the latest bump in the road for the Canadian women, who have been embroiled in a lengthy labour dispute with Canada Soccer. While there has been progress on that front, there has yet to be a conclusion to the dispute with the Canadian men also involved in the discussions.
Stoney is looking to refocus her charges and, while the schedule is tight, she says she has already made "a few tweaks."
"I think it's important there is an element of change. I think the players need to feel change … So you will definitely see a slightly different identity (Wednesday)," she said.
But Stoney says the change will be gradual, with the team facing a steady stream of friendlies in 2025.
"You don't try and change too much too soon," she said "I think it takes a lot of time to embed the information. And we've got the luxury of having a year this year with no competitive games so we're going to take that year to try and change certain things and tweak certain things.
"There are some things that are really good within this team that I don't need to change. This week is about assessing everything, changing certain things and then evaluating off the back of camp what I need to change moving forward."
Canada holds an 8-14-5 career record against China, but has dominated the rivalry of late, winning the last seven meetings while outscoring the Chinese 12-4.
"We know that they like to be defensively compact, organized. But we know there are spaces we can definitely exploit against them," said Stoney.
"It's a game that if we're playing well and on our game, we are very capable of winning," she added.
Stoney is missing the injured Kadeisha Buchanan (Chelsea), Sydney Collins and Bianca St-Georges (North Carolina Courage), Cloé Lacasse (Utah Royals), Deanne Rose (Leicester City) and Quinn (Vancouver Rise).
Stoney's 26-player roster includes two players from the new Northern Super League — midfielders Samantha Chang from the Vancouver Rise and Emma Regan from AFC Toronto. The 24-year-old Chang, who has one senior cap, and the 25-year-old Regan, who has four caps, both came to the new Canadian league from Denmark's HB Koge.
There is also a familiar face with a new name. Veteran forward Janine Beckie married Ethan Sonis in December and is now Janine Sonis.
Other veterans on the squad include captain Jessie Fleming, Kailen Sheridan, Vanessa Gilles, Ashley Lawrence, Shelina Zadorsky, Julia Grosso, Jordyn Huitema, Adriana Leon and Nichelle Prince.
There are sisters in camp in Jade and Nyah Rose. While Jade is included, the 22-year-old Harvard defender will not see action as she continues her injury rehabilitation, according to Canada Soccer.
The 19-year-old Nyah, who plays collegiate soccer at SMU as a forward, won her first senior cap coming off the bench in the 5-1 win over South Korea on Dec. 3.
Uncapped midfielder Carly Wickenheiser, who replaced St-Georges, is the daughter of the late Doug Wickenheiser, the first overall pick in the 1980 NHL draft who went on to play for Montreal, St Louis, Vancouver, the New York Rangers and Washington. Born in St. Louis while her father was with the Blues, she has Canada and U.S. citizenship.
It's a first call-up for the 27-year-old Wickenheiser, who plays for BK Häcken in Sweden.
Coincidentally Tuesday, North Carolina announced St-Georges had agreed to a "mutual termination," allowing the 27-year-old from St-Charles-Borommée, Que., to move on.
The Pinatar Cup was first held in 2020. It's Canada's first time at the competition previously won by Scotland, Belgium, Iceland and Finland.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 18, 2025
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
