Casey Stoney set to adjust Canada women's soccer lineup for Pinatar Cup match against Mexico

Neil Davidson · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Feb 21, 2025 3:56 PM EST | Last Updated: February 21

Canada manager Casey Stoney volition person much resources astatine her disposal Saturday erstwhile Canada takes connected Mexico astatine the Pinatar Cup successful Spain.

The sixth-ranked Canadian women were down bodies for Wednesday's 1-1 gully with No. 17 China connected Wednesday, successful Stoney's debut astatine Canada's helm, fixed 7 players lone arrived from North America the erstwhile day.

"Pretty overmuch afloat availability," Stoney said Friday.

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

While Canada is 23-2-3 all-time against Mexico, the third-ranked broadside successful CONCACAF is connected the rise.

"They're a bully team," said Stoney. "They're precise competitive, combative. They've got immoderate skilful players particularly successful wide areas. If we fto [Jacqueline] Ovalle travel wrong connected her near foot, she tin origin america problems.

The sides past met successful a two-game bid up of the Paris Olympics with Canada winning the opener 2-0 successful Montreal followed by a 1-1 gully successful Toronto.

One of the Canadian losses was costly, however, with a 2-1 decision successful March 2004 denying Canada a berth astatine the 2004 Olympics successful Athens. The different decision came successful a 2021 affable successful Mexico City.

WATCH l Grosso scores Canada's lone extremity successful gully with China:

After Mexico, the Canadian women play No. 42 Taiwan adjacent Tuesday. All 3 games are astatine the Pinatar Arena successful Murcia.

Stoney, formerly manager of the Manchester United women and astir precocious the NWSL's San Diego Wave, was named Canada manager connected Jan. 13. She succeeds Bev Priestman, who near Canada Soccer aft being sent location arsenic a effect of the drone-spying ungraded astatine past summer's Paris Olympics.

Stoney is missing the injured Kadeisha Buchanan (Chelsea), Sydney Collins and Bianca St-Georges (recently near North Carolina Courage), Cloe Lacasse (Utah Royals), Deanne Rose (Leicester City) and Quinn (Vancouver Rise).

Canada went up connected a Julia Grosso extremity successful the 16th infinitesimal Wednesday lone to spot China rebound from a dilatory commencement to propulsion adjacent successful the 58th minute. And Canada needed a stellar diving prevention successful stoppage clip by goalkeeper Sabrina D'Angelo to sphere the necktie aft a China corner.

Stoney wants the squad to play with much intent and much intensity.

"There's a batch of things that instrumentality nary endowment that we request to amended on," she said. "I deliberation the squad is precise alert of that."

"We request to beryllium sharper successful this game. Mexico are a measurement up," she added.

Emma Regan, an AFC Toronto midfielder earning her 5th cap, was successful the starting 11 and became the archetypal Northern Super League subordinate to deterioration Canada colours. The caller six-team league kicks disconnected April 16.

Carly Wickenheiser and Ella Ottey made their elder debuts disconnected the seat successful the 2nd half.

The 27-year-old Wickenheiser is the girl of the precocious Doug Wickenheiser, the archetypal wide prime successful the 1980 NHL draught who went connected to play for Montreal, St Louis, Vancouver, the New York Rangers and Washington. Ottey is simply a 19-year-old defender from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Stoney has said she plans to rotate her roster and usage each 3 goalkeepers astatine the tournament.

While she wants to spot betterment connected the field, Stoney has been impressed by what she has seen disconnected it.

"It's everything I anticipated and more. I was told astir the quality of the group, the spot of their culture. And that's been everything I could person wanted. And it was 1 of the immense reasons I took the occupation truthful I'm truly pleased astir that."

The Pinatar Cup was archetypal held successful 2020. It's Canada's archetypal clip astatine the contention antecedently won by Scotland, Belgium, Iceland and Finland.