The Canadian women’s national team’s April international window came to a disappointing end on Tuesday night, falling 1-0 to Argentina at Langford, B.C.’s Starlight Stadium.
After Canada were on the front foot in the earlygoings, Yamila Rodríguez stunned the home crowd with a long free kick from a tight angle that caught Sabrina D’Angelo off guard at her near post. Canada were chasing the game from that point, and began pushing even harder after Argentina goalkeeper Solana Pereyra was sent off in the 77th minute, but were not able to find the back of the net despite outshooting La Albiceleste 18-6 on the night.
Here are three takeaways from Tuesday’s match.
Kayla Briggs shows high potential in national team debut
After impressing at the youth national team level and in the NCAA, Kayla Briggs made her debut for the senior national team in Tuesday’s match, starting on the right wing of Canada’s 4-2-3-1 formation.
Briggs, who plays for Michigan State University, was a late call-up to the team, brought in with Vancouver Rise forward Holly Ward to replace injured duo Olivia Smith and Clarissa Larisey. Less than ten minutes into her debut, Briggs was already confidently running at defenders and playing with the fearlessness that Smith in particular has exhibited during the early stages of her own career.
One such moment that caught eyes early on was when Briggs took a step toward an Argentinian defender before rolling the ball to her left and darting forward, leaving the defender in the rear view mirror. It was an impressive move, one of several from the 19-year-old that left you thinking she has been in similar situations countless times before, not just a few minutes into her international career.
Throughout her hour-long run out, Briggs used her pace to her advantage, and was involved in most of Canada’s movements down that side of the pitch. She also made a few runs into the penalty area to try and get onto the end of crosses or set pieces, but will have to wait to add that first international goal milestone.
Despite coming into camp as a relative unknown, Briggs will, and should, continue to get looks from Casey Stoney and her staff as the team looks to reinvigorate a Canadian attack that can certainly use more ruthless players like her.
The bright spot in a poor performance from the #CanWNT? ☀️
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) April 9, 2025
Young players like Kayla Briggs showed that they are knocking on the door of the national team 🍁 pic.twitter.com/ayHqzoyZmY
Ward, 21, also made her national team debut in the match, coming off the bench to replace Briggs in the 64th minute. She too was involved down the right flank, although did not get a ton of opportunities as the team kept a lot of focus on Bianca St-Georges, Julia Grosso, and co. on the left side.
Still, both players looked promising in their first national team appearances, and will be hoping to be involved when the team next reconvenes in the coming months.
Rodríguez free kick forces Canada to battle from behind, but attack lacked finishing
Few thought that Yamila Rodríguez was lining up a shot when she stood over the ball on the left flank of Starlight Stadium. It sucked all of the air out of the crowd, then, when she curled an effort into the bottom left corner of the Canadian net, past a scrambling Sabrina D’Angelo, who had positioned herself to be ready to attack a cross.
It seemed to stun the Canadian players as well, who were suddenly trailing with ten minutes left in the half despite spending almost all of it on the front foot. Rodríguez was lucky not to be sent off for an ugly stamp on Quinn in the moments following the goal, a non-call that also would have changed the game, but not one that should be an excuse for Canada’s struggle to find an equalizing goal.
GOAL 🇦🇷
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) April 9, 2025
Yamila Rodríguez beats Sabrina D’Angelo with a free kick to the near post and Argentina take a 1-0 lead in Langford 🎯#CanWNT I 🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/G5KLXUsqx3
The game did open up a bit as Canada pushed hard for a goal of their own, particularly when Argentina did eventually go down to ten players after goalkeeper Solana Pereyra was sent off for a handball outside the penalty area. With a lot of the ball in this game, 70 per cent to be exact to go along with a commanding 18-6 lead in the shot department, Canada dictated a lot of the play, but as Casey Stoney and her side expected, Argentina were more than happy to slow down, sit deep and defend.
Canada struggled against that defensive, yet aggressive style of play. Of their 18 shots, just four hit the target, with many of them rushed attempts from distance at the first sight of goal instead of being able to play through gaps in the Argentinian defence.
“We couldn’t get any rhythm, we couldn’t get any kind of speed to our plays,” Stoney said after the match. “There was so much stop-start, which became frustrating, and we’ve got to recognize in those moments, we’ve got to use the ball to be able to create rhythm and speed. So, rather than trying to force the ball forward, we’ve got to move the opponent. And I don’t think we did that well enough.”
Canada struggling offensively has been a theme for years, and something that Stoney has repeatedly said is near the top of her list of priorities. There were signs of that during Friday’s 3-0 victory over this same Argentina side in Vancouver but doing it consistently, especially against sides they are expected to beat, is a mountain they need to conquer.
Lengthy unbeaten streak comes to an end as Canada suffer first defeat under Casey Stoney
Tuesday night’s defeat saw an impressive 23-match unbeaten streak end for the Canadian women’s team, as well as their perfect record against the Argentinians.
Canada’s previous non-shootout defeat was back on October 28, 2023, a 1-0 defeat to Brazil in Montreal in a friendly match. Canada were 15-8-0 in that span, a stretch that included winning all three of their group stage matches at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, a deep run at the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup, and most recently victory at the 2025 Pinatar Cup.
Les Rouges have found an identity that even when they struggle to put the ball in the back of the net themselves, they will at the very least be difficult to break down and always find a way to keep themselves in games. Apart from the aforementioned free kick goal that they will believe was preventable, that was the case again on Tuesday night.
The loss was also the first of the Casey Stoney era, which began at the Pinatar Cup in Spain. Under Stoney Canada has won three matches, drawn once and lost once, a good but not great record considering the circumstances. The Argentina defeat on Tuesday was frustrating for the reasons mentioned above, while a 1-1 draw with China in Spain was due to conceding a goal from a few yards out after a mix up at the back, which was also preventable.
Cleaning up these errors and scoring more goals are two things that are easier said than done, but this transitional first year under Stoney is an opportunity to work together to make things right while there isn’t the pressure of a tournament looming over them.
Tuesday night’s match was the eighth meeting against Argentina over the years. Canada was 7-0-0 in the previous encounters, most recently a 3-0 win for Canada at BC Place last Friday. La Albiceleste will continue their preparations for the upcoming 2025 Copa América Femenina this summer, while Canada’s next confirmed match is a friendly against the United States on July 2 in Washington, D.C.
