Coach Casey Stoney to miss Canada games in Japan due to family illness

By Canadian Press on November 21, 2025.

The ninth-ranked Canadian women will be without coach Casey Stoney when they close out their 2025 schedule against No. 8 Japan in the upcoming November international window.

An emotional Stoney told reporters on Friday that she is in England to be with her mother, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer earlier in the year.

“Sadly in the last three weeks, her health has taken a turn,” said Stoney, her voice breaking. “And this is why I am not in camp. I have been at my mum’s bedside for the last three weeks and I will continue to be there. Family is very important to me.

“Anybody that knows me knows that this team means everything to me. My work means everything to me. Missing camp is an extremely difficult decision for me to make but I have to make a decision that’s right for my family. And, as you can see, I’m extremely emotional about this.”

Assistant coach Natalie Henderson will lead the team, with under-17 coach Jen Herst added to the technical staff.

Henderson also took charge of the team when Stoney missed a May 31 friendly with Haiti in Winnipeg after her mother’s cancer diagnosis.

Canada and Japan meet Nov. 29 at Nagasaki Stadium City (Peace Stadium) and Dec. 2 at Transcosmos Stadium Nagasaki in nearby Isahaya.

Canada will be without star forward Olivia Smith.

Smith, who joined Arsenal in July from Liverpool for a then-record one million pounds ($1.8 million), left the Canada camp during the October window after suffering a hip injury against Switzerland.

The 21-year-old from Whitby, Ont., has returned to action and played 62 minutes of Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Real Madrid in Women’s Champions League play Wednesday.

“We wanted to select her but it was a club decision … They felt it was best for her to stay in the U.K. and return to fitness without the travel (to Japan),” Stoney, a former Arsenal player, said of the London club.

“That’s the club’s decision. They work with her day to day. And hopefully if we can work with the club now, then hopefully next year she’ll be available to us,” she added.

As a result, there is a first call-up for Ottawa Rapid forward DB Pridham, who led the Northern Super League with 20 goals this season.

Born in California to Canadian parents (father from Toronto and mother from Fort Erie, Ont.), Pridham is a dual citizen. The family moved to the U.S. for her father’s work in tech sales.

The 28-year-old Pridham, named the NSL Player of the Year, previously played club football in Iceland and Sweden.

The Canadian women have lost three straight, beaten 1-0 by both No. 24 Switzerland and the 11th-ranked Netherlands last month in the wake of a disappointing 3-0 loss to the second-ranked U.S. in July.

Stoney did not mince words after the loss to the Swiss in Nijmegen.

“Not good enough,” said the Canada coach, who is 6-4-1 since taking over the team in January. “Nowhere near the level in terms of the technical quality, ability to keep the ball, winning 50-50 duels. Not to the standard that we need or require when we’re playing top opponents.”

Canada is 4-8-4 all-time against Japan and has won just one of the last seven meetings (1-5-1).

Japan won 3-0 the last time they met, at the SheBelieves Cup in February 2023, and is unbeaten in the last three meetings (2-0-1) since Canada prevailed 2-0 at the Algarve Cup in March 2018.

Japan made it to the quarterfinals of the 2023 World Cup, losing 2-1 to Sweden. Canada failed to survive the group stage.

Other than Pridham, the 23-player Canadian roster is essentially the same as the 24-player squad called up for the October international window. Veteran defender Vanessa Gilles returns from injury, while defender Zara Chavoshi and teenage striker Kaylee Hunter are left out.

Stoney said Gilles’ leadership on and off the field was missed last camp.

“It’s massive for us to be able to bring her back in, especially against such a tough opponent,” she said.

The 17-year-old Hunter, who ranked second to Pridham in NSL scoring, was called up for the October matches after AFC Toronto declined to release her for the FIFA U-17 World Cup. Arriving in camp with a knock, she did not see action for Canada.

Stoney said while she has tried to broaden the player pool this year, this camp is “about trying to keep some consistency from the last camp.”

Canada remains without the injured Kadeisha Buchanan, Gabby Carle  and  Lysianne Proulx. Annabelle Chukwu  (Notre Dame) and  Kayla Briggs (Michigan State University) are unavailable for selection by mutual agreement with their colleges.

Stoney said Utah Royals forward Cloe Lacasse, while back from a knee injury suffered in October 2024, won’t be available to Canada until next year.

Canada Roster

Goalkeepers: Sabrina D’Angelo,  Aston Villa (England); Kailen Sheridan, San Diego Wave (NWSL); Emily Burns, FC Nantes (France).

Defenders: Ashley Lawrence,  Olympique Lyonnes (France); Shelina Zadorsky, West Ham United (England); Vanessa Gilles, Bayern Munich (Germany); Jade Rose,  Manchester City (England); Sydney Collins, Bay FC (NWSL); Jayde Riviere, Manchester United (England);  Marie Levasseur, Montpellier HSC (France). 

Midfielders: Simi Awujo, Manchester United (England); Jessie Fleming, Portland Thorns (NWSL); Marie-Yasmine Alidou, Portland Thorns; Julia Grosso, Chicago Red Stars (NWSL); Emma Regan, AFC Toronto (NSL); Florianne Jourde, Paris Saint-Germain (France).

Forwards: Jordyn Huitema,  Seattle Reign (NWSL); Adriana Leon, San Diego Wave (NWSL); DB Pridham, Ottawa Rapid (NSL); Nichelle Prince, Kansas City Current (NWSL); Janine Sonis, Racing Louisville (NWSL); Evelyne Viens, AS Roma; Holly Ward, Vancouver Rise (NSL).

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2025

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press