Canada Soccer announces CANWNT squad for October matches

2022-09-28

Benedict Rhodes, CanPL.ca Contributor (@BTFR17)

Bev Priestman’s latest squad for the Canadian women’s national team was announced on Wednesday, ahead of two friendly matches in early October.

Canada are set to face Argentina on Thursday, October 6, followed by Morocco on Monday October 1o, with both matches to be played at Estadio Municipal de Chapín in Jerez, Spain. The matches are part of the International Football Festival in Cádiz, Spain.

Both teams have qualified for next season’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, so the international window will serve as vital preparation for Priestman and her staff, as well as an experienced squad that doesn’t feature too many surprises.

“To play two Women’s World Cup opponents with different styles ahead of the draw is exciting and will only support the invaluable experiences we will accumulate in the remaining four FIFA windows,” said Priestman in a press release. “We know that in a World Cup, the variation of tiers and styles is much greater compared to an Olympics. Therefore, this is a perfect fit at this stage given our recent and future Tier one fixtures.

“The squad is still missing some key players, however, at this stage it does allow us to assess and re-assess players that have done well in our environment, in club or college ahead of 2023.”

There are no players in the squad that haven’t been called up to the senior national team in the past, as Priestman looks toward next summer’s tournament. Lysianne Proulx is the only member of the squad not to pick up her first senior international cap, however, as the SCU Torreense goalkeeper is currently stuck behind first-choice goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan and the more-experienced Sabrina D’Angelo on the depth chart.

As Priestman mentioned, a handful of players will miss out through injury: defenders Vanessa Gilles of Olympique Lyonnais, Gabrielle Carle of Kristianstads DFF and Jayde Riviere of the University of Michigan, as well as attacker Deanne Rose of Reading FC. After missing the last camp through injury, Kadeisha Buchanan and Ashley Lawrence are back in the squad, however.

Full Canada squad: