On Thursday, Canada announced its preliminary 25-man roster that will travel to Australia for the team’s final camp ahead of the World Cup. Here’s what you need to know:
- Canada’s camp will begin on June 28, according to Canada Soccer.
- Final World Cup rosters have a maximum of 23 players and must be submitted by July 10.
- The players will report to the Gold Coast on June 28, with the exception of Clarissa Larisey and Evelyne Viens, who will not be released by their clubs to the Damallsvenskan until the official FIFA period begins on July 10.
- Canada will play a closed-door friendly against England on July 14 in Australia.
The Athleticcurrent user analysis:
Who will be cut?
According to FIFA rules, players can be substituted in case of “serious injury or illness” up to 24 hours before the start of their team’s first match. Given how far Australia is from Canada, it makes sense to simply field the full preliminary roster, although just bringing in two extra players makes little difference, while other countries name preliminary squads of 26 or even 30 players, such as France and the Netherlands.
That being said, the two likely cuts could be 28-year-old Marie-Yasmine Alidou and 23-year-old Larisey. Alidou was in camp ahead of Canada’s last friendly against France, but did not get minutes. Larisey entered that game as a substitute in the 77th minute, but of the currently named eight attackers, she has the least experience.
How prepared is Canada?
Amid a contentious public battle between Canada’s women’s national team and Canadian Soccer — players on the women’s team say their World Cup funding was almost half of what the men’s national team is for 2022, and veteran midfielder Sophie Schmidt testified before parliament that “Canada Soccer treats the women’s game as an afterthought,” — a smaller budget requiring a smaller group traveling to Australia/Aotearoa New Zealand makes sense.
Canada Soccer did issue a statement saying they had agreed to a “comparable budget” for women’s training, but with the federation now mired in parliamentary hearings and an upcoming financial and governance review thanks to federal sports minister Pascale St-Onge, logistics and operational support for the women’s team is tenuous at best. As an example, Canada Soccer doesn’t appear to have scheduled any farewell games for the team on home soil.
Canada has also been juggling a number of injuries, with Kadeisha Buchanan, Deanne Rose, Desiree Scott, Quinn, Nichelle Prince and Shelina Zadorsky all sidelined as recently as April. Interestingly, coach Bev Priestman said in April that she wanted to take a bigger group to Australia with so many injuries – whether she meant 25 or much more, there’s not much room for error when it comes to bench depth.
Who was left off the list?
Some interesting omissions from Canada’s World Cup roster include defenders Bianca St-Georges and Gabrielle Carle. Both players have had plenty of regular time with their respective clubs, the Chicago Red Star and the Washington Spirit, and both have international experience.
However, neither player got minutes in Canada’s friendly against France. Whatever questions Priestman is asking her quarterbacks, she seems to have found her answers.
Complete list
Goalkeepers (3)
Sabrina D’Angelo | ENG / Arsenal FC
Lysianne Proulx | POR / SCU Torreense
Kailyn Sheridan | USA / San Diego Wave FC
Defenders (7)
Kadeisha Buchanan | ENG / Chelsea FC
Vanessa Gilles | FRA / FCF Olympique Lyonnais
Shelina Zadorsky | ENG / Tottenham Hotspur
Jade Rose | USA / Harvard University
Allysha Chapman | USA / Houston Dash
Ashley Lawrence | FRA / Paris Saint-Germain
Jayde Riviere | ENG / Manchester United FC
Midfielders (7)
Quinn | USA / OL Reign
Marie-Yasmine Alidou D’Anjou | POR / Famalicão
Simi Awujo | USA / University of Southern California
Jessie Fleming | ENG / Chelsea FC
Julia Grosso | ITA / Juventus FC
Sophie Schmidt | USA / Houston Dash
Desiree Scott | USA / Kansas City Current
Forward (8)
Jordyn Huitema | USA / OL Reign
Cloe Lacasse | POR / SL Benfica
Clarissa Larisey | SWE / BK Häcken FF
Adriana Leon | USA / Portland Thorns FC
Christine Sinclair | USA / Portland Thorns FC
Nichelle Prince | USA / Houston Dash
Deanne Rose | ENG / Reading FC
Evelyne Viens | SWE / Kristianstad DFF
Required reading
(Photo: Anne-Marie Sorvin / USA Today)
