In the first major tournament without veteran Christine Sinclair, Bev Priestman announces a fairly unchanged 18-man roster to take to this summer’s Paris Olympic Games. The reigning Olympics champions look to retain their gold medal feat from Tokyo, but now search for a new challenge without the Canadian GOAT.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Inclusions
In a similar vein to her past few rosters, Priestman names captain Jessie Fleming in the midfield. Fleming is alongside Quinn, who became the first trans and non-binary athlete to win Olympic Gold when the Canadians reigned victorious in Tokyo. The Chelsea duo of Kadeisha Buchanan and Ashley Lawrence bolster the backline, with Arsenal’s Cloè Lacasse named in attack.
Ones to Watch
Players Paris-bound that you should keep a keen eye on include the defensive pairing of Sydney Collins and Jade Rose, and midfielder Simi Awujo. The aforementioned Collins, who plays for the North Carolina Courage in the NWSL, has had a spout of injury in recent weeks. Despite the injury cloud, Priestman reported to TSN that “I’m really confident she can be ready.”
As for Jade Rose, the 21 year-old spoke to CanadaSoccer about her excitement in booking a ticket to Paris:
“It is truly an honour and a privilege to be named to the squad and to get to play in my first Olympics. When I think back to 2012, it was this very team that inspired an 9-year-old girl to strive for greatness. And to have those dreams turn reality 12 years later is beyond anything I could possibly describe.“
The Exclusions
With the most obvious absence being the retired captain, Sinclair, others missing out include Liverpool transfer target Olivia Smith, who scored 16 times in her first season at Sporting CP. Liverpool reported on Tuesday morning that their bid for the 19 year-old talent was successful, and she has since signed with Matt Beard’s Reds for the upcoming Barclays Women’s Super League season.
Embed from Getty ImagesPriestman’s alternates include Bay FC’s Lysianne Proulx, West Ham United’s Shelina Zadorsky, and Leicester City’s Deanne Rose.
Overall, the team is well-balanced, and works well as a unit. With some issues around their effiency in front of goal, there would be hopes that the likes of Lacasse, Adriana Leon- who had a good run in the CONCAF Gold Cup winning the Golden Boot- and Portland Thorns’ Janine Beckie can find gold scoring form to retain the gold medal this summer.
See Canada’s 18-player squad below.
GOALKEEPERS:
Sabrina D’Angelo
Kailen Sheridan
DEFENDERS:
Kadeisha Buchanan
Sydney Collins
Vanessa Gilles
Ashley Lawrence
Jayde Riviere
Jade Rose
MIDFIELDERS:
Simi Awujo
Jessie Fleming
Julia Grosso
Quinn
FORWARDS:
Janine Beckie
Jordyn Huitema
Cloé Lacasse
Adriana Leon
Nichelle Prince
Evelyne Viens
ALTERNATES:
Gabrielle Carle
Lysianne Proulx
Shelina Zadorsky
Deanne Rose
