KEY TAKEAWAYS: CanWNT name final squad of 2024 ahead of friendlies vs. Iceland, Korea Republic
The Canadian Women’s National Team revealed their final squad of 2024 on Thursday, as they announced which 23 players would be heading to Spain for a pair of friendlies against Iceland and South Korea in late November and early December.
After a long and gruelling year, one that kicked off with the Gold Cup in February, and continued with the Olympics in the summer, it’s a good chance for this Canadian team to get together and finish the year on a high note.
Having dealt with all sorts of ups and downs across 2024, this is a good opportunity for this team to get some wins while looking ahead to the future.
Armed with some clarity about what’s next for this team after the recent findings of Canada Soccer’s independent report on the drone scandal that rocked this team at the Olympics, in which it was confirmed that head coach Bev Priestman won’t be coming back after her one-year suspension by FIFA, this camp officially marks a fresh start for the team.
They won’t have a new coach patrolling the sidelines until the new year, with U20 coach Cindy Tye taking the interim reins for this camp, but now, they can start planning for the future without having that scandal hanging over their heads.
#CanWNT/#CanXNT interim head coach Cindy Tye on her interim appointment: "It's always an honour and privilege to be [asked] to serve in this capacity. Excitement, a little bit of nerves, but I'm excited to get started."
— Canucks Abroad (@Canucks_Abroad) November 21, 2024
Just look at this squad as an example - after calling in a squad very similar to their Olympic team in the October window, they were able to call in a much younger group this time around, doing well to bring in some exciting long-term prospects who could become key under a new coach.
Naturally, injuries have also opened the door for that to happen - Canada is missing five players due to ailments, and another due to personal reasons - but it’s encouraging to see them bring in several young players to replace them.
Now, they’ll look to impress in this camp, helping Canada officially turn their focus toward what’s next, with the 2027 World Cup being the next big landmark on their journey in just under three years.
With that in mind, here’s what stood out from this latest squad reveal.
Youngsters get a chance to step up amid absences:
It’s been a tough time for Canadian players and injuries as of late, as Cloé Lacasse and Kadeisha Buchanan both suffered long-term knee injuries, Sydney Collins has dealt with two major ankle injuries, while Quinn has struggled to get onto the pitch for the Seattle Reign.
As a result, all four will miss out on this camp, along with Jade Rose, who was also ruled out with an injury. On top of that, Jordyn Huitema was omitted for personal reasons, meaning that Canada will be without six key players when they take the field in Spain.
You add in the absence of someone like Desiree Scott, who recently retired from professional soccer, and this squad certainly feels different from past editions of this team.
CANWNT Roster Announced Ahead of International Friendlies Against Iceland and Korea Republic 🚨
— CANWNT (@CANWNT) November 21, 2024
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L’effectif du #CANWNT dévoilé en vue des matchs amicaux internationaux contre l’Islande et la République de Corée 🚨
Yet, that’s not a bad thing, as it opens the door for some new faces to step up. Certainly, some of these absences loom large - especially when considering the form of players like Lacasse and Buchanan, and the importance of Rose, Quinn, Huitema and Collins, but if there’s a camp where one doesn’t mind shaking things up, it’s this one.
With no competitive games on the horizon, Canada has a chance to truly experiment over the next few windows, allowing them to widen their player pool.
And to their credit, they did well to call in some intriguing new names as replacements for those who will miss out.
To begin, at the back, Megan Reid is in, as the Angel City defender was called in for the first time, having previously only been included in Canada’s pre-camp squad for the 2024 Gold Cup, where it was discovered that the 28-year-old American defender also was eligible to represent Canada. Joining her at the back is 18-year-old Janet Okeke, who impressed for Canada at the U20 World Cup, which is an exciting opportunity for the first-year defender from North Carolina State University.
Between both, they’ll look to help shore up Canada’s centre back depth, which feels lacking beyond their big four of Buchanan, Rose, Vanessa Gilles and Shelina Zadorsky, which is why it’s exciting to see what Reid or Okeke could bring to the table.
Moving up into the midfield, another youngster from that U20 World Cup squad is in, as Jeneva Hernandez-Gray is in for her first camp since she was a last-minute inclusion in the squad for a pair of Canada games at the end of 2023. At just 18 years of age, she’s the youngest player in this squad and will look to impress after a strong year for the Vancouver Whitecaps Girls Elite side.
On top of the inclusion of Emma Regan, who was included in recent camps but is a relatively new face given that she has just three caps to her name, look for that pair to step up and help elevate Canada’s midfield, which is also an area of need for this team.
One area where Canada is well-stocked, however? Up front, but that doesn’t still mean there isn’t room for more competition, making it exciting to see the inclusion of Nyah Rose, the 19-year-old forward from Southern Methodist University who also shone at the U20 World Cup.
For all of Canada’s depth up front, a lot of them are in their prime, so they could certainly take a longer look at someone like Rose or U20 World Cup teammate Olivia Smith, who has already started to carve out a regular role in the senior outfit. With a lack of long-term clarity about who should be starting up front, there certainly feels like there will be minutes to go around for any youngster who impresses, which Rose could potentially do.
It must be said, however - it’s a surprise Clarissa Larisey was not included in this squad, as the winger is in good form for BK Häcken and could’ve been a good Lacasse replacement, with Rose being more of a striker. Ideally, it could’ve been intriguing to see what Larisey, Smith and Rose could all do in the same camp, but instead, Larisey was left out.
Oavgjort mot AFC Ajax – Clarissa Larisey med hattrick i årets sista match 🐝
— BK Häcken (@bkhackenofcl) November 20, 2024
🔗 Läs intervjun med Clarissa Larisey ⤵️#bkhäcken
Overall, though, it’ll be intriguing to see how much of a look these youngsters get across these two games. Certainly, as Canada begins their preparation for the 2027 World Cup, it’d be good to get a look at a few of them, but it remains to be seen who will carve out the opportunity for themselves to see the field.
Friendlies a good chance to experiment:
Speaking of looking at new faces, however, it certainly feels like this camp is a good opportunity to do that, and the opponents are a good reason why.
No doubt, Iceland and South Korea represent stiff tests - both top 20 teams, they will each give Canada a good match. In particular, South Korea feels like they’ll be a tough matchup, especially after they drew 0-0 with Canada at BMO Field in June of 2022.
At the same time, these are also two winnable games for this Canadian team, who have done well in these kinds of matches over the past 1.5 years, where they’ve lost just one game in regulation time since September of 2023 despite playing several top 20 nations.
Because of that, it’s hoped that this will be a good chance for Canada to experiment, as it feels like they’re deep enough to put out a competitive team while allowing some of their newer names to impress.
Especially after the last window, where they played the defending World Cup champions Spain, a match where they had to fight and claw just to earn a draw, which made it hard for them to experiment, these games feel like a nice change of pace.
As a result, look for Canada to tinker, especially in terms of the tactics that they use. Another factor to be considered with the injuries is that it’ll remove some key players from Canada’s preferred system as of late, the 3-4-2-1, with Buchanan and Rose being key parts of the backline, in particular.
Without both of those names, that could open the door for Canada to try out a back four, for example, or to tweak their back three and how they use it. From there, that could open the door for them to try new things in midfield and in the attack, which could help them figure out how to better use some of their players in those positions.
No doubt, these games won’t be easy - Canada must strike a balance between experimentation while keeping some level of familiarity within their team - but it definitely feels like a good chance for them to try some new things with the future in mind. 
Who will lead the new-look attack?
Otherwise, one key thing to watch will be how Canada deploys their attack, as it feels like they’ve got some interesting decisions to make up front.
With the absences of Huitema and Lacasse, who are two key pieces up front, this will open the door for them to use some different combinations in the attack.
In particular, Marie-Yasmine Alidou seems like someone who will earn a long look - after being a last-minute inclusion in the camp against Spain, she scored after coming off the bench, which has pushed her to be included from the start this time around. In excellent form at the club level, that showed she could carry that over to the international level, something Canada might want to continue in this window.
GOAL 🇨🇦
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) October 25, 2024
Marie-Yasmine Alidou opens the scoring for the #CanWNT vs. Spain, getting her 1st goal in just her 3rd cap as she finishes off a transition play started by Evelyne Viens forcing a turnover and driving toward goal 😎
🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/pavXNG7m9i
Otherwise, however, there are still others with plenty to prove.
For example, Smith also feels like a big one to watch - having had a strong start to the year for Liverpool, it was expected she’d play a big role against Spain, but despite starting that match she only made it to half time before coming off. Then, there’s Evelyne Viens, who continues to battle for bigger opportunities with Canada despite racking up the goals at the club level - after assisting Alidou on that goal against Spain, she could also earn a good look in this camp.
Then, when you consider what veteran names like Janine Beckie and Adriana Leon can still bring into the attack, there should certainly be no shortage of options for Cindy Tye to experiment with in the attack.
Having become a team that can regularly find the net (Canada has been held scoreless just once in 2024), the next step for them in their offensive evolution is to find some more consistency in their attacking group, as they’ve rarely settled on a specific group of attackers to start together, a challenge they’ll continue to tackle as 2025 comes around.
Yet, that’s the blessing and the curse they face with their attacking depth - they’ve got a lot of attackers to choose from and can rotate through them, but they’ll also want to find a way to establish a more clear pecking order in terms of who the main options are among that group.
With some key faces missing, this camp could be a good chance for them to get some clarity in that regard.
