Canada coach Stoney plans roster changes for Pinatar Cup game against Mexico

Canada coach Casey Stoney will have more resources at her disposal Saturday when Canada takes on Mexico at the Pinatar Cup in Spain.

The sixth-ranked Canadian women were down bodies for Wednesday's 1-1 draw with No. 17 China on Wednesday, in Stoney's debut at Canada's helm, given seven players only arrived from North America the previous day. 

"Pretty much full availability," Stoney said Friday. 

The exception is 21-year-old Manchester United midfielder Simi Awujo, who picked up "a little knock."

While Canada is 23-2-3 all-time against Mexico, the third-ranked side in CONCACAF is on the rise.

"They're a good team," said Stoney. "They're very competitive, combative. They've got some skilful players especially in wide areas. If we let (Jacqueline) Ovalle come inside on her left foot, she can cause us problems.

"They like to make the game scrappy, so we need to play our game not theirs. I think it will be really competitive."

The sides last met in a two-game series ahead of the Paris Olympics with Canada winning the opener 2-0 in Montreal followed by a 1-1 draw in Toronto.

One of the Canadian losses was costly, however, with a 2-1 defeat in March 2004 denying Canada a berth at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. The other defeat came in a 2021 friendly in Mexico City.

After Mexico, the Canadian women play No. 42 Taiwan next Tuesday. All three games are at the Pinatar Arena in Murcia.

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.

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).

The Canadian women have not lost in regulation time in 20 matches dating back to a 1-0 loss to Brazil in Montreal in October 2023. Canada has gone 12-0-8 since then with three of the draws turning into penalty shootout losses (two to the U.S. and one to Germany) and one into a shootout win (over Brazil).

Canada went ahead on a Julia Grosso goal in the 16th minute Wednesday only to see China rebound from a slow start to pull even in the 58th minute. And Canada needed a stellar diving save in stoppage time by goalkeeper Sabrina D'Angelo to preserve the tie after a China corner.

Stoney wants the team to play with more intent and more intensity.

"There's a lot of things that take no talent that we need to improve on," she said. "I think the team is very aware of that.”

"We need to be sharper in this game. Mexico are a step up," she added.

Centre back Vanessa Gilles, on the occasion of her 49th cap, captained the side for the first time in place of Jessie Fleming, one of the late-arriving players

Emma Regan, an AFC Toronto midfielder earning her fifth cap, was in the starting 11 and became the first Northern Super League player to wear Canada colours. The new six-team league kicks off April 16.

Carly Wickenheiser and Ella Ottey made their senior debuts off the bench in the second half.

The 27-year-old Wickenheiser 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. Ottey is a 19-year-old defender from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Stoney has said she plans to rotate her roster and use all three goalkeepers at the tournament.

While she wants to see improvement on the field, Stoney has been impressed by what she has seen off it

"It's everything I anticipated and  more. I was told about the character of the group, the strength of their culture. And that's been everything I could have wanted. And it was one of the huge reasons I took the job so I'm really pleased about that."

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. 21 2025