CWNT to take part in SheBelieves Cup in February

[toontownman]

Canada make their first bow in the competition. Canada and Japan replace Germany and England. Will face the US and France in Orlando.

https://canpl.ca/article/canwnt-to-play-in-2021-shebelieves-cup-in-february 

Canada Soccer announced on Monday that the women’s national team will be in action within the first quarter of 2021, with news that they will be participating in this year’s SheBelieves Cup, taking place from February 18 to 24.

This will be Canada’s first appearance in the invitational tournament, to be held this year at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida. This year, the sixth time the SheBelieves Cup has been held, will see Canada play host nation the United States, as well as Brazil and Japan.

The Canadian side will kick off the competition against the U.S., currently first in the FIFA World Rankings, on February 18 (7 p.m. ET).

Following that opener, they’ll take on 10th-ranked Japan on February 21 (6 p.m. ET), followed by eighth-ranked Brazil on February 24 (4 p.m. ET). Canada is currently tied with Brazil in the World Rankings in eighth place.

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RELATED READING: Priestman, CanWNT face difficult decisions with Olympics on 2021 horizon

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None of the opponents are new to Canada, of course; they last played the United States in last year’s Concacaf Olympic Qualifying final, losing 3-0. The Canadians lost 4-0 to Japan last October, and they played Brazil in their most recent match last Spring, a thrilling 2-2 draw in which Canada came back from being down 2-0.

New Canadian coach Bev Priestman will begin her tenure at the helm of the Canadian women’s team in this tournament, which will be the side’s first matches since the Tournoi de France last March.

With games against strong teams — all of which will be participating at this summer’s Tokyo Olympics — the SheBelieves Cup should serve as a very competitive beginning to the newest era of the Canadian women’s program.

“I’m excited to get the team together for the first time to kick off an important 2021 season, as we build towards the Tokyo Olympic Games this summer,” Priestman said in a statement.

“The SheBelieves Cup gives us the opportunity to face some of the top football teams in the world in a tournament setting. It will be a great opportunity to get ourselves ready for the Tokyo Olympic Games, facing different styles of play and tight turnarounds.”

[sloth8]

I am very happy to see that the CWNT will be able to get some quality matches in!

As of late November, the Tournoi de France was also scheduled to play around the same time (February 15-25). Nothing has been formally announced though.

Meanwhile, Sweden, Portugal, Denmark, and Norway were supposed to play in the Algarve Cup, but it has been cancelled for 2021.

 

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

2 hours ago, sloth8 said:

I am very happy to see that the CWNT will be able to get some quality matches in!

As of late November, the Tournoi de France was also scheduled to play around the same time (February 15-25). Nothing has been formally announced though.

Meanwhile, Sweden, Portugal, Denmark, and Norway were supposed to play in the Algarve Cup, but it has been cancelled for 2021.

 

The 2021 Cyprus Cup has also been cancelled.

As for the She Believes tournament, here are the details from US Soccer:

https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2021/01/2021-shebelieves-cup-presented-by-visa-will-feature-the-usa-hosting-brazil-canada-and-japan

[_Vic_]

More people dying daily in the U.S. than 9/11.

More people dead in the USA than from WW II.

Florida = 1.5 *Million* cases. Over 12K daily. Spiking up like Canada's big provinces. 66% change over the past 14 days.

Athletes have a powerful ability to inspire. I think of Son Heung-min and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. A random tournament we're not going to win isn't going to do much in that regard. The team working on the front lines - now that would be both meaningful and inspirational. That is the job of a Canadian women's soccer team - to unite us, inspire us, give us pride in being Canadian and to give us hope. Performance is only part of that.

[red card]

Looks like onesoccer will be carrying it

https://www.livesoccertv.com/competitions/international/shebelieves-cup/

[Stoppage Time]

As for the roster, is Cloe Lacasse (Benfica) going to play for Canada, or has she switched? It is reported that she has obtained Icelandic citizenship, but that seems like a poor option for international football.

[Stoppage Time]

Hey, folks, does anybody know if Cloe Lacasse and Evelyne Viens are part of the CWNT roster? Both are doing well in Europe, but I do not know if they are going to play for Canada. Anybody?  Thanks!

[sloth8]

On 1/15/2021 at 7:47 PM, Stoppage Time said:

As for the roster, is Cloe Lacasse (Benfica) going to play for Canada, or has she switched? It is reported that she has obtained Icelandic citizenship, but that seems like a poor option for international football.

I don't know if Cloé will be called or not. She did obtain her Icelandic citizenship in June 2019. However, as of last summer, FIFA said she did not meet its residency requirement to play for Iceland. The Iceland FA is working with FIFA to have the issue resolved. https://www.visir.is/g/20201989968d/jon-thor-um-cloe-hun-upp-fyllir-ekki-krofur-fifa-

In the past, Cloé has sounded very open to the idea of playing for Iceland: https://www.frettabladid.is/sport/bestu-astur-sem-eg-hef-upplifa/

[Stoppage Time]

Thanks, Sloth8. I hope that Lacasse chooses Canada.

[sloth8]

CSA have announced a 29-player squad that will participate in a 2 week training camp before the SheBelieves Cup. The final 23-player roster for the tournament will be announced shortly before the opening match. There are 5 newcomers to the CWNT fold, including Evelyne Viens and Bianca St-Georges.

GK- Rylee Foster| ENG / Liverpool FC
GK- Stephanie Labbé | SWE / FC Rosengård
GK- Erin McLeod| USA / Orlando Pride
GK- Kailen Sheridan | USA / Sky Blue FC
CB- Kadeisha Buchanan | FRA / FCF Olympique Lyonnais
CB- Vanessa Gilles| FRA / FC Girondins de Bordeaux
CB- Jade Rose| CAN / Super REX Ontario
CB- Shelina Zadorsky | ENG / Tottenham Hotspur
FB- Gabrielle Carle| USA / Florida State University
FB- Allysha Chapman | USA / Houston Dash
FB- Ashley Lawrence | FRA / Paris Saint-Germain
FB- Bianca St-Georges| USA / Chicago Red Stars
FB- Jayde Riviere | USA / University of Michigan
M- Samantha Chang| USA / University of South Carolina
M- Jessie Fleming | ENG / Chelsea FC
M- Julia Grosso | USA / University of Texas at Austin
M– Jordyn Listro| USA / Orlando Pride
M- Diana Matheson| USA / Kansas City NWSL
M – Quinn | USA / OL Reign FC
M- Sophie Schmidt | USA / Houston Dash
M- Desiree Scott | USA / Kansas City NWSL
F- Janine Beckie | ENG / Manchester City FC
F- Jordyn Huitema | FRA / Paris Saint-Germain
F- Adriana Leon | ENG / West Ham United FC
F- Nichelle Prince | USA / Houston Dash
F- Deanne Rose | USA / University of Florida
F- Christine Sinclair | USA / Portland Thorns FC
F- Olivia Smith | CAN / Super REX Ontario
F- Evelyne Viens| USA / Sky Blue FC

https://www.canadasoccer.com/news/canada-soccer-announces-womens-national-team-training-camp-roster-ahead-of-the-2021-shebelieves-cup/?fbclid=IwAR1ZS-7A933vuSpC857b6JVaOVGYI2OPOjuZikUBJEP7LuAd57WujYFKn6I

The press release doesn't say where the camp will be held.

Edited January 25, 2021 by sloth8

[narduch]

Wonder if there will be issues with the England based players coming over.

[narduch]

Good news:

 

[Kent]

So I guess I'm rolling the dice and renewing my subscription in February rather than wait to see if WCQ happen in March or CPL happens in May. Fingers crossed!

[sloth8]

Hadn't noticed that Argentina replaced Japan in the tournament. That improves Canada's chances of not finishing last!

https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2021/01/argentina-replaces-japan-at-2021-shebelieves-cup-presented-by-visa

[narduch]

Bad roster news

 

[red card]

Only Sinclair is the big loss. But maybe a blessing in disguise as the team needs to start moving away from Sinclair. Not having Lawrence, Buchanan & Huitema are big losses also.

Matheson & McLeod provide veteran leadership but won't be missed as much on the pitch. And these are also two players that the team has already moved away from. 

 

Edited February 13, 2021 by red card

[_Vic_]

Lawrence and Buchanan is hands down losing your two best players.

Reminds me of US Soccer not releasing college players while Americans were released. FIFA opened the door to clubs not releasing their players, little surprise the French clubs give two shoots about Canada.

I believe the Germans did the opposite and didn't call their players from English clubs because they're worried about them bringing B117 in.

“Given the new roster realities, what a great opportunity for players to rise up and show that they can compete at this Olympic level”, said Bev Priestman, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team Head Coach. “The tournament will be used to assess the player pool and players’ readiness to achieve our goals at the Olympic Games. Ultimately this sort of competition is exactly where we all want to be, pushing ourselves as we move forward in this journey.”

If this is exactly where you want to be, why invite them in the first place?

[sting]

CBC is showing the Canada USA game on Saturday.

[MtlMario]

And their last game (Brazil) the following Saturday(CBC).                                                                                          

Edited February 16, 2021 by MtlMario

[narduch]

22 hours ago, sting said:

CBC is showing the Canada USA game on Saturday.

So a 2 day tape delay?

That being said its nice to see One Soccer/CBC partnership continue.

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

The US squad:

https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2021/02/midfielder-jaelin-howell-replaces-samantha-mewis-on-usas-2021-shebelieves-cup-roster

The Argentina squad:

https://www.afa.com.ar/es/posts/la-seleccion-argentina-viaja-a-orlando-para-disputar-la-she-believes-cup

 

The Brazil squad:

https://www.cbf.com.br/selecao-brasileira/noticias/selecao-feminina/selecao-feminina-reunida-em-orlando-para-disputa-do-torneio-she-belie

https://www.cbf.com.br/cbf-tv/convocacao-da-selecao-feminina-para-o-torneio-shebelieves

[narduch]

 

[red card]

So OL released Catarina Macario for USA but not Buchanan.

So the recently arrived Macario isn't in OL's near term plans? But it looks like they need Buchanan.

[_Vic_]

Who knows with her playing just the one game for them. Makes you wonder if it's contractual though as her contract would have been written after the covid-19 clause came out allowing teams to hold back players.

[The Ref]

Priestman roster for She Believes Cup:

Goalkeepers: Rylee Foster (Liverpool FC), Stephanie Labbé (Rosengård), Kailen Sheridan (Sky Blue FC).

Defenders: Lindsay Agnew (North Carolina Courage), Allysha Chapman (Houston Dash), Gabrielle Carle (Florida State University), Vanessa Gilles (FC Girondins de Bordeaux), Quinn (OL Reign FC), Jayde Riviere (University of Michigan), Jade Rose (Super REX Ontario), Shelina Zadorsky (Tottenham Hotspur)

Midfielders: Samantha Chang (University of South Carolina), Jessie Fleming (Chelsea FC), Julia Grosso (University of Texas at Austin), Jordyn Listro (Orlando Pride), Sarah Stratigakis (University of Michigan), Sophie Schmidt (Houston Dash), Desiree Scott (Kansas City NWSL) 

Forwards: Janine Beckie (Manchester City FC), Adriana Leon (West Ham United FC), Nichelle Prince (Houston Dash), Deanne Rose (University of Florida), Evelyne Viens (Sky Blue FC)

Unavailable due to injury: Christine Sinclair (Portland Thorns), Diana Matheson (Kansas City NWSL), Erin McLeod (Orlando Pride), Bianca St-Georges (Chicago Red Stars)

Unavailable due to club commitments: Kadeisha Buchanan (FCF Olympique Lyonnais), Ashley Lawrence (Paris Saint-Germain), Jordyn Huitema (Paris Saint-Germain)