TORONTO, Canada—“This wasn’t what we were expecting.”
For the first time in almost a year, the Canadian women’s national team returned to action Thursday evening, welcomed back with a date against the hosts and current world no. 1 United States at the 2021 SheBelieves Cup.
Making her debut on the touchline was newly appointed head coach Bev Priestman, tasked with overcoming the defending World Cup champions in her first match in charge, without several key starters to boot—including all-time leading scorer Christine Sinclair and reigning Canadian Player of the Year Kadeisha Buchanan.