Casey Stoney names Canada’s roster for Montreal, Toronto friendlies

“It’s a balance of youth and experience,” Stoney said of the roster. “I think this is a core squad now that’s coming together, that have been together for a while.”

Canada Soccer said in a release on Tuesday that forward Jordyn Huitema (Chicago Red Stars) and defender Jayde Riviere (Manchester United) were not available for selection due to injuries, while Annabelle Chukwu (University of Notre Dame) could not be called up because of academic commitments.

Chukwu is also coming off a stellar performance at the U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland earlier this month where she helped Canada get to the quarterfinals before falling to North Korea. Stoney said the 19-year-old forward from Ottawa likely would have been on the team if not for her school commitments.

Playing alongside Chukwu at the U-20 World Cup was AFC Toronto’s Kaylee Hunter. The 18-year-old forward joins the senior team for the Denmark games after putting up four goals across the tournament.

“I think she was excellent,” Stoney said. “I thought she pressed well at times. There’s still areas of her game she needs to improve. She’s young, right? But I thought she was a standout … She’s very deserving of this call up and I think she’s got a bright future ahead of her.”

There were some surprising omissions from Stoney’s 24-player roster, with veteran San Diego Wave forward Adriana Leon and Holly Ward of the Seattle Reign both absent.

“There’s genuine competition for places in this squad,” the coach said. “And I’ve picked a squad that is game ready — match-ready players that are playing consistent minutes, players that are playing for their clubs.

“I know we’ve got a couple that are coming back in off the back of injuries, but they’ve shown consistent form before that. And I think that’s where we’ve made these decisions is based on those players playing really well for their clubs at the moment.”

The ninth-ranked Canadians will host No. 12 Denmark in Montreal on Oct. 9. The two teams will then meet again in Toronto on Oct. 12.

The games kick off an important stretch for the national squad, with Canada set to face Panama in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF W Championship on Nov. 28. The tournament serves as a qualifier for both the 2027 World Cup in Brazil and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The plan is to rotate lineups within and between the two games against Denmark, Stoney said.

“I think, obviously, we will mix things up. It’s two games in a short space of time. We’ve also made that agreement with Denmark as well,” she said. “So people will get a varied amount of playing time. But we want to make sure that we continue to build on the performances that we’ve had in 2026.”

Canada holds a 3-3-0 record against Denmark, but the two sides haven’t played since 2017 when the Canadians took a 1-0 victory at the Algarve Cup in Portugal.

The friendlies will mark the first time the women’s national team has played at home since June 2025 when Canada downed Costa Rica 4-1 in Toronto.

Getting back in front of fans is “really, really important,” Stoney said.

“We don’t play at home often due to different constraints,” she said. “So to be able to play a top European team at home, obviously Montreal, Toronto, hopefully we can, get many tickets sold, get the fans behind us, build off the momentum of the men’s World Cup, and make sure that we excite the fans for the women’s team because we’ve got a big year ahead.”

ROSTER

GOALKEEPERS: Melissa Dagenais (Ottawa Rapid FC), Sabrina D’Angelo (AFC Toronto), Lysianne Proulx (Ipswich Town FC), and Kailen Sheridan (North Carolina Courage)

DEFENDERS: Kadeisha Buchanan (Chelsea FC), Gabrielle Carle (Washington Spirit), Sydney Collins (Bay FC), Vanessa Gilles (FC Bayern Munich), Ashley Lawrence (OL Lyonnes), Jade Rose (Manchester City WFC), Janine Sonis (Denver Summit FC), Shelina Zadorsky (AFC Toronto)

MIDFIELDERS: Marie-Yasmine Alidou (Montreal Roses FC), Jessie Fleming (Portland Thorns FC), Simi Awujo (Manchester United WFC), Julia Grosso (Chicago Red Stars), Emma Regan (Denver Summit FC), Carly Wickenheiser (North Carolina Courage)

FORWARDS: Kaylee Hunter (AFC Toronto), Cloé Lacasse (Utah Royals FC), Delaney Baie Pridham (Ottawa Rapid FC), Nichelle Prince (Boston Legacy FC), Olivia Smith (Arsenal W.F.C.), Evelyne Viens (Paris FC)

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 22, 2026.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Casey Stoney names Canada’s roster for Montreal, Toronto friendlies

What's Trending