Canada Soccer announced today its roster for a Women’s World Cup send-off match against Mexico on May 18 at BMO Field. The roster includes Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite REX graduates Jordyn Huitema and Julia Grosso.
The match also provides fans with an opportunity to watch Christine Sinclair on home soil as she closes in on the International goal scoring record of 184 goals.
The Canada-Mexico match kicks off at 1 p.m. PT local (10 a.m. PT) at BMO Field in downtown Toronto and will be broadcast live on TSN, RDS and OneSoccer. For fans, this will be one last chance to show your support for Canada before they head to Europe for their pre-competition training camp ahead of the June 10 FIFA Women’s World Cup™ group opener against Cameroon in Montpellier, France. Tickets to the Toronto match start as low $20 via Ticketmaster.ca. A special ‘Me+3’ ticket offer is also available with complete ticketing information available via canadasoccer.com/tickets.
“Heading into an away FIFA Women’s World Cup, we hope that the echo from our Canadian fans back home will carry us through our month in France,” said Kenneth Heiner-Møller, Canada Soccer’s Women's National Team Head Coach and Women’s National EXCEL Director. “The players are really looking forward to having the fans cheering for us, so we will put on a show and give us the momentum as we head to France. It is important that both our performance and fan support at our send-off match in Toronto has a resounding effect on our players for a long period of time.”
While the final FIFA Women’s World Cup™ roster will be announced later this month, Canada has called in a squad of 22 players for the home international match in Toronto. The squad features a mix of veterans and young players, including teenagers Grosso, Huitema Jayde Riviere, and first-time call up Jade Rose.
In all, 13 of the 22 players in Toronto are hoping to make their FIFA Women’s World Cup™ debut this June. Alongside the four teenagers, other potential FIFA Women’s World Cup™ debutants are Lindsay Agnew, Janine Beckie, Gabrielle Carle, Vanessa Gilles, Nichelle Prince, Rebecca Quinn, Deanne Rose, Kailen Sheridan, and Shelina Zadorsky.
Veterans in the Toronto squad, all of whom helped Canada finish in sixth place at the record-setting FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™, are captain Christine Sinclair, Allysha Chapman, Jessie Fleming, Stephanie Labbé, Ashley Lawrence, Adriana Leon, Diana Matheson, Sophie Schmidt, and Desiree Scott.
Sinclair, who has three goals in five games thus far in 2019, has 180 international goals in her career, and 16 career goals against Mexico. Sinclair has had four multi-goal games against Mexico in her career.
While also considering players who are still action with their professional clubs in Europe, coach Heiner-Møller will select his final 23-player FIFA Women’s World Cup™ roster in the week following the 18 May match in Toronto.
CANADA IN TORONTO
12- F- Christine Sinclair | USA / Portland Thorns FC
1- GK- Stephanie Labbé | USA / NC Courage
2- FB- Allysha Chapman | USA / Houston Dash
4- CB- Shelina Zadorsky | USA / Orlando Pride
5- CB- Rebecca Quinn | FRA / Paris FC
6- W- Deanne Rose | USA / University of Florida
7- M- Julia Grosso | CAN / University of Texas at Austin
8- M- Diana Matheson | USA / Utah Royals FC
9- F- Jordyn Huitema | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite REX
10- FB- Ashley Lawrence | FRA / Paris Saint-Germain
11- M- Desiree Scott | USA / Utah Royals FC
13- M- Sophie Schmidt | USA / Houston Dash
14- FB- Jayde Riviere | CAN / Markham SC & Ontario Super REX
15- W- Nichelle Prince | USA / Houston Dash
16- W- Janine Beckie | ENG / Manchester City FC
17- M- Jessie Fleming | USA / UCLA
19- W- Adriana Leon | ENG / West Ham United FC
21- GK- Kailen Sheridan | USA / Sky Blue FC
22- FB- Lindsay Agnew | USA / Houston Dash
23- F- Gabrielle Carle | USA / Florida State University
24- CB- Vanessa Gilles | FRA / FC Girondins de Bordeaux
25- CB- Jade Rose | CAN / Unionville Milliken SC & Ontario Super REX
CANADA A-Z
Name | Age | City in which they grew up | Active start/first club
Agnew, Lindsay | 24 | Kingston, ON, CAN & Dublin, OH, USA | Byron Optimist SC
Beckie, Janine | 24 | Highlands Ranch, CO, USA | Real Colorado
Carle, Gabrielle | 20 | Lévis, QC, CAN | AS Chaudière-Est
Chapman, Allysha | 30 | Courtice, ON, CAN |
Fleming, Jessie | 21 | London, ON, CAN | Nor’West Optimist SC
Gilles, Vanessa | 22 | Ottawa, ON, CAN | Ottawa Capital United
Grosso, Julia | 18 | Vancouver, BC, CAN | Italian Canadian Sports Federation Youth Soccer
Huitema, Jordyn | 18 | Chilliwack, BC, CAN | Chilliwack FC
Labbé, Stephanie | 32 | Stony Plain, AB, CAN | Spruce Grove Saints
Lawrence, Ashley | 23 | Caledon East, ON, CAN | Brams United SC
Leon, Adriana | 26 | Maple and King City, ON, CAN | Vaughan Azzuri
Matheson, Diana | 35 | Oakville, ON, CAN | Oakville SC
Prince, Nichelle | 24 | Ajax, ON, CAN | Ajax SC
Quinn, Rebecca | 23 | Toronto, ON, CAN | North Toronto SC
Riviere, Jayde | 18 | Markham, ON, CAN | West Rouge SC
Rose, Deanne | 20 | Alliston, ON, CAN | Alliston SC
Rose, Jade | 16 | Markham, ON, CAN | Markham SC
Schmidt, Sophie | 30 | Abbotsford, BC, CAN | Abbotsford
Scott, Desiree | 31 | Winnipeg, MB, CAN | Maples Cougars
Sheridan, Kailen | 23 | Whitby, ON, CAN | Pickering SC
Sinclair, Christine | 35 | Burnaby, BC, CAN | South Burnaby Metro Club Bees
Zadorsky, Shelina | 26 | London, ON, CAN | Kitchener
