CanWNT reveals squad ahead of 2023 SheBelieves Cup

2023-02-13

Benedict Rhodes, CanPL.ca Contributor (@BTFR17)

Canada Soccer announced the women’s national team squad that will take part in the 2023 SheBelieves Cup on Monday afternoon, ahead of Thursday’s tournament opener against the United States.

Several European-based players not named to the pre-tournament training squad have been added to that group — Sabrina D’Angelo (Arsenal), Shelina Zadorsky (Tottenham Hotspur), Ashley Lawrence (Paris Saint-Germain), Julia Grosso (Juventus), Cloé Lacasse (Benfica), Adriana Leon (Manchester United), Jessie Fleming and Kadeisha Buchanan (Chelsea).

Not making the final 23 despite being in the pre-tournament squad are Chicago Red Stars fullback Bianca St-Georges, NJ/NY Gotham FC midfielder Victoria Pickett, or NDC-CDN Ontario forward Amanda Allen. Sydney Collins, an uncapped U.S.-born dual-national who was recently drafted by the North Carolina Courage, has joined the team as a training player for the tournament.

Canada will play three matches in three American cities over the course of the seven-day invitational tournament. They play their first game on Thursday, against the hosts in Orlando, before taking on Brazil in Nashville on Sunday, and then Japan in Frisco, Texas the following Wednesday, February 22.

The tournament is important preparation for the team ahead of this summer’s World Cup. Taking on two former World Cup winners — the two-time reigning champions from the United States and the team that beat them in the 2011 final, Japan, Canada will face some tough tests. Brazil are no pushover either, and possess a squad that challenged Canada at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and most recently beat Canada with a stoppage time winner in November.