Casey Stoney pulled no punches in assessing Canada’s 1-0 loss to 11th-ranked Netherlands in a women’s soccer friendly on Tuesday.
“It’s not good enough,” Canada’s coach said from Nijmegen. “Nowhere near the level in terms of technical quality, ability to keep the ball, winning 50-50 duels. It is not at the level that we need or demand when we play against top-level opponents.”
The Dutch were faster, more creative, more aggressive and better connected for most of the match. With some key pieces missing, Canada’s once-vaunted ability to win physical battles was lacking.
“I played against Canada, I watched Canada and all I heard was that that was the label. Well, now it’s not,” the former England captain said. “So we have to go back to the basics. I’ll be honest, I feel like sometimes we look like little girls against women in terms of dueling.”
“Listen, we have a lot of work to do,” he added.
Lynn Wilms scored for the elegant Dutchwoman, who led the dance for most of the evening. The home team took the lead in the 28th minute and could have increased the lead if they had been more clinical.
Ninth-placed Canada offered a little more in the second half, but the Dutch continued to attack.
“To be honest, I haven’t taken away many positives from tonight,” said Stoney, who lamented Canada’s series of turnovers and its inability to take advantage of the opportunities it had.
Netherlands Lynn Wilms scored the only goal of an international friendly match on Tuesday as the Dutch defeated Canada 1-0 in Nijmegen, Netherlands.
Fullback Jayde Riviere was the Canadians’ best and posed a threat down the right flank.
“Jayde has the potential to be one of the best full-backs in the world… We just didn’t have enough players at the time.” [required] level,” Stoney said.
He said it will take time and perhaps personnel changes to fix things.
“But who am I going to change the staff?” he asked rhetorically. “He [player] The pool is the pool and it is very small.”
The message to her players was to return to their clubs and work on the field and in the gym to improve.
It was the third straight loss for Canada, which has not scored in 274 minutes since a 4-1 win over Costa Rica on June 27. It was only the Canadians’ second loss to the Netherlands in 15 games (9-2-4).
The Canadians, who were missing some key pieces due to injury, were coming off a 1-0 loss to 24th-ranked Switzerland on Friday in Lucerne. They were shut out 3-0 by the second-ranked United States on July 2 in Washington, DC.
Stoney had warned that Switzerland and the Netherlands were “ready to compete right now”, thanks to the “very competitive” UEFA Women’s Championship in July. Instead, he noted that Canada’s last competitive game was on August 2, 2024: a penalty shootout loss to Germany in the quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics.
Things aren’t any easier for Canadian women. They close the year in the November international window with a two-match series against No. 8 Japan, with games in Nagasaki on November 29 and December 2.
“These games are here for a reason,” Stoney said. “We need to fight our way out of this right now, know exactly what we need to do to get better. And who we need to bring into the team to make sure we are competing at the highest level.”
The Dutch played a possession game
The Canadiens fell to 6-4-1 under Stoney.
As expected, the Dutch played a possession game (they had 70 percent of the ball in the first half) as they looked for holes in the Canadian defense. They found a great goal in the 28th minute.
The Canadian defense was torn apart after a slick passing setup that ended with Esmee Brugts dribbling past Canadian defender Jade Rose and sending a perfect pass just over center Shelina Zadorsky’s outstretched leg. The ball found Wilms alone in front of goal for a simple tap-in with goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo, Wilms’ clubmate at England’s Aston Villa, trying unsuccessfully to return to her position.
Stoney made three changes to her starting lineup with D’Angelo, fullback Ashley Lawrence and Jordyn Huitema replacing Kailen Sheridan, Gabby Carle and the injured Olivia Smith.
One of Canada’s rising stars on the women’s national soccer team, Olivia Smith, was injured Friday in a friendly against Switzerland and had to remove a golf cart from the course.
It was an experienced lineup with the Canadian starting lineup coming into the game with a combined 945 caps. Lawrence earned her 150th cap and captain Jessie Fleming earned her 149th.
Canada could not take advantage of its few opportunities.
A goal by Adriana León in the 62nd minute was disallowed on the board for a clear offside. Dutch goalkeeper Lize Kop, who plays for Tottenham in England, made a good save to deflect Janine Sonis’ shot over the crossbar in the 72nd minute.
A goal by Nichelle Prince was ruled offside in stoppage time, in a play that Stoney said was clearly in play.
Canada sent in Carle, Nichelle Prince, Marie-Yasmine Alidou, Holly Ward, Evelyne Viens and Marie Levasseur in the second half.
Canada was without injured goalkeeper Lysianne Proulx (Juventus), defenders Kadeisha Buchanan (Chelsea) and Vanessa Gilles (Bayern Munich), midfielder Simi Awujo (Manchester United), as well as Smith and teenage forward Kaylee Hunter.
