ANALYSIS + HIGHLIGHTS: CanWNT 🇨🇦 vs. China 🇨🇳 | 2025 Pinatar Cup 🏆

The Casey Stoney era for the Canadian women’s national team began with a 1-1 draw against China on Wednesday, in their first of three matches at the 2025 Pinatar Cup.

Stoney’s first lineup in charge featured two strikers, with Evelyne Viens and Nichelle Prince starting together up top. Marie-Yasmine Alidou and Janine Sonis started on the left and right flanks, respectively, with Emma Regan and Julia Grosso paired in midfield. Gabrielle Carle and Ashley Lawrence lined at right and left back, with Vanessa Gilles and Shelina Zadorsky the centre-back duo in front of goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo.

Stoney spoke when she was hired about wanting to unlock Canada’s attacking potential and find more goals for the team, and the starting group reflected that. Canada began the match on the front foot, and pressed China high up the pitch to try and win the ball back in advanced positions.

After a couple of early shots from the Canadians missed the target, Grosso gave Les Rouges the lead 16 minutes in. Carle lifted a long pass down the sideline, which Grosso ran onto behind the Chinese backline before cutting to her left toward goal. With players from both teams chasing her into the penalty area, Grosso calmly slotted the ball into the bottom left corner to give her team the lead with her first national team goal since scoring three at the 2022 Concacaf W Championship.

Here are your match highlights:

Canada played with a directness in the match that they have often lacked in the past, a strong first impression in Stoney’s first at the helm. A focus on forward passes and a willingness to make runs behind the Chinese backline were promising signs for the team’s aforementioned target of creating more scoring opportunities and a refreshing twist from Canadian sides of the past who often struggled in open play — even if that dried up a bit in the second half.

China responded to Canada’s dominance with a strong spell of their own at the end of the first 45, pressing Canada back and trying to find a response to being down a goal. They were able to get one shot in the first 45 compared to Canada’s three, but weren’t able to hit the target.

Three changes were made for Canada at the break, with Carly Wickenheiser, Olivia Smith and Samantha Chang coming on for Gabrielle Carle, Nichelle Prince and Julia Grosso, respectively. It was a debut for Wickenheiser and a second cap for Chang — and her first since the 2021 SheBelieves Cup. Later in the half Ella Ottey made her national team debut as well, replacing Emma Regan.

Building on the end of the first half, China started the second on the front foot as well, and tied things up ten minutes after play resumed. After Canada was unable to clear the ball away from its own defensive end of the pitch, something that was also an issue in the first half at times, Jin Kun picked up the ball just outside the six-yard box and smashed it past D’Angelo to make it 1-1.

After replacing Janine Sonis off the bench, Adriana Leon thought she gave Canada the lead in the 76th minute, firing the ball into the top left corner, but it was disallowed as the offside flag was raised. Canada picked up the pace after conceding, but even more so as the clock ticked toward the final whistle. Leon thought she won a penalty in the 84th minute after being chopped down in the box, but the referee waved away the protests.

China had a late attempt on goal with a driven shot after a corner kick, but D’Angelo made a diving stop to her left to parry the ball away, before holding on to the much weaker follow up. D’Angelo also palmed down a late free kick into her penalty area before pouncing on the ball before the onrushing Fangxin Sun.

Despite the spirited, almost-desperate ending to the game, neither side could find a breakthrough, and the match ended 1-1.

Canada is now unbeaten in regular time in 20 consecutive matches going back to 2023 — a strong foundation for the team to build on as they turn their attention to the rest of the Pinatar Cup and a 2025 campaign that will be about growth without any competitive matches. Both teams will be in action again on Saturday in their second matches of the friendly tournament, with Canada taking on Mexico and China up against Chinese Taipei. Mexico beat Chinese Taipei 4-0 earlier on Wednesday.

Box Score

Lineups

Canada: D’Angelo; Carle (Wickenheiser 46′), Gilles, Zadorsky, Lawrence; Sonis (Leon 63′), Regan (Ottey 70′), Grosso (Chang 46′), Alidou; Viens (Larisey 70′), Prince (Smith 46′)

China: Xu; Li, Wu, Dou (Wang 46′), Chen; Liu (Wang 81′), Yao; Tang (Shao 58′), Wang, Zhang (Sun 89′); Jin (Zhi 81′)

Goals

16′ — Julia Grosso (Canada)
58′ — Jin Kun (China)

Discipline

43′ — Yellow: Wang Yanwen (China)
56′ — Yellow: Liu Jing (China)
89′ — Yellow: Fangxin Sun (China)
90+3′ — Yellow: Vanessa Gilles (Canada)