Canada settles for draw at the start of the Casey Stoney era

• Canada 1 (Grosso 16’), China 1 (Jin Kun 58’)
• AFC Toronto’s Emma Regan 1st NSL player to play for Canada
• Carly Wickenheiser, Ella Ottey make their international debuts

Casey Stoney said this week it was going to take time to leave her mark on the Canadian women’s team.  

That much was clear from Canada’s 1-1 draw against China on Wednesday in the team’s opening match of the Pinatar Cup in Murcia, Spain.  

Julia Grosso scored the lone goal for a Canadian side that was trying to find its bearings in its first game under the new coach. While Canada dictated possession and carried the bulk of play, it looked lacklustre in the final third of the pitch and was unable to put its opponent under any kind of sustained pressure.  

The Pinatar Cup is a four-nation, invitational tournament that takes place every year in Spain. This year's competition involves Canada (ranked No. 6 in the world), China (No. 17), Mexico (No. 31) and Chinese Taipei (No. 42). It's a round-robin competition where everybody plays each other once. The nation with the most points at the end of the round robin wins the Pinatar Cup.   

Mexico earned a 4-0 win over Chinese Taipei earlier on Wednesday in the tournament opener. The Mexicans top the table with three points, followed by Canada and China (one point each).

It was game of two different halves from the Canadian team against China, according to Stoney.

"I liked the first half. I didn't like the second half. I thought we lacked a little bit of control and discipline, and kind of went away from our style of play a little bit in the second half. We allowed China to dictate what we did a little bit more. They were very physical. I don't think the officiating helped us to play our game tonight as well, which was a bit of an issue. But I think we need to control that," Stoney told reporter after the match.

"First half, we played some really nice stuff. I thought we were bright, we got forward well in certain times. We looked like we could have scored more goals. So, it's looking at those chances and looking at those openings where maybe we could make better decisions on the cross or the pass."

Stoney set her team up in a 4-4-2 formation with goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo playing behind a back line of Ashley Lawrence, Vanessa Gilles, Shelina Zadorsky and Gabrielle Carle. Emma Regan anchored things in central midfield alongside Grosso while flanked by Marie-Yasmine Alidou and Janine Solis (formerly Janine Beckie). The front two consisted of Evelyne Viens and Nichelle Prince.  

Gilles wore the captain’s armband in the absence of Jessie Fleming, who Stoney confirmed was one of seven players unavailable because they only arrived in Spain on Tuesday after leaving their pro clubs in North America. Stoney was also missing the injured Kadeisha Buchanan (Chelsea), Sydney Collins and Bianca St-Georges (North Carolina Courage), Cloé Lacasse (Utah Royals), Deanne Rose (Leicester City) and Quinn (Vancouver Rise).

Regan of AFC Toronto made history by becoming the first player from the Northern Super League to play for Canada. It was Regan’s third start in five international appearances.

Canada dominated the opening 30 minutes thanks in large part to the industrious work by Regan and Alidou in the middle of the park. Regan provided the Canadians with a steady presence, routinely changing the point of attack with her pinpoint passes.  

"[Regan] was outstanding in the first half... She controlled things, calmed things down, and I thought she was very, very good," Stoney said.

Les Rouges’ best moments came down the flanks, especially on the right side through Sonis and Carle. The breakthrough against the defensive-minded Chinese came when Carle played an exquisite ball over the top down the right side. Grosso latched onto the ball, took a few touches and then fired a shot across the box the nestle inside the lower corner of the net. The goal was Grosso’s fourth for Canada and first since July 8, 2022, a stretch of 29 games.

China switched to an aggressive pressing style for the last 15 minutes of the half that caused a few minor problems for Canada, but Stoney’s side still managed to go into the break with the lead.  

Stoney made a triple substitution at the start of the second half by bringing on Olivia Smith, Carly Wickenheiser (her first cap) and Samantha Chang (second cap) for Prince, Grosso and Carle. Those changes meant Regan filled in for Carle at right fullback. Defender Ella Ottey, 19, entered the match in the 71st minute to earn her first Canadian cap.  

"I want to widen the player pool, and I also want to observe everybody. There's no point bringing them into camp if I'm not going to put them in. That's the purpose of this camp; is to make sure that we can give players caps, see them under pressure against good teams. So, I wasn't fearful to put them in," Stoney explained.

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China’s pressing game finally paid dividends when the Asian Cup champions drew level early in the second half. After a misplaced pass by Sonis deep in her end, a ball played by Yao Wei into the box took a deflection off Zadorsky and set up nicely for an unmarked Jin Kun to hammer it home from 12 yards out. It was China’s first shot on target.  

The Chinese continued to frustrate the Canadians with their pressing as the half wore on, not allowing Stoney’s team to get any kind of stranglehold on the game. 

Canada should have had a penalty called in its favour in the 84th minute when substitute Adriana Leon was brought down by Dou Jiaxing. Replays showed the Chinese defender didn’t get any of the ball, but the Hungarian referee waived play on.  

Stoney was asked in the post-match press conference if she thought it was a penalty.

"100 per cent," she replied.

D’Angelo made a stellar kick save in injury time on a deflected shot inside the box coming off a corner kick to help preserve the draw for Canada.  

Canada is now unbeaten in regulation time in 20 consecutive matches, a streak that dates back to a 1-0 loss to Brazil in Montreal on Oct. 28, 2023.

NOTES: Overall, Canada has a losing record of eight wins, six draws and 14 losses against China. It won the previous seven in a row against the Asian powerhouse... Canada faces Mexico on Saturday (1:00 p.m. ET/OneSoccer) and wraps up play at the Pinatar Cup next Tuesday when it faces Chinese Taipei (1:00 p.m. ET/OneSoccer)... This was Canada's first match since earning a 5-1 win over South Korea on Dec. 3, 2024 in an international friendly… The Pinatar Cup was first held five years ago and was previously won by Scotland (2020), Belgium (2022), Iceland (2023) and Finland (2024). This is Canada's first time competing in the tournament. 

(Top photo courtesy of Canada Soccer)

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