CanWNT offers glimpse of future youth movement in friendlies vs. Haiti: "It's important to give them that experience"
As the CanWNT said goodbye to another legend, they got a reminder of their bright future.
After sending off Desiree Scott in her hometown of Winnipeg on Saturday, as the ‘Destroyer’ made her 188th and final appearance for Canada in a 4-1 win over Haiti, Canada had to shift their attention to the second of two friendlies against Haiti this window, with the second match coming in Montréal on Tuesday.
Having used more of a veteran-heavy lineup for Scott’s send-off match, as Scott got to share the field with some of her longtime teammates, head coach Casey Stoney decided to freshen things up for this second match, making nine changes to her lineup, which included the insertion of several new faces.
As a result, Canada’s starting lineup went from an average age of 29.4 in Winnipeg to 24.7 in Montréal, showing the impact of Stoney’s changes, as she started eight players with 30 or fewer caps in this second game, including debutant Zara Chavoshi.
Some fresh faces in the XI, presented by @GE_Appliances!
— CANWNT (@CANWNT) June 3, 2025
Quelques nouveaux visages dans le XI partant, présenté par @GE_Appliances!
🇨🇦 🆚 🇭🇹#CANWNT pic.twitter.com/ei3OT5wH8N
Yet, this was a good reminder of the task Stoney faces as Canadian head coach. There’s no doubt that she’s inherited a good side, one that has done well to navigate the transition from the squad that won three Olympic medals from 2012 to 2021 into this next generation, but she knows that this group is still working to get to where it wants to be.
At the end of the day, the big goal for this team is to win the World Cup, something that they’ve not gotten close to doing since the early 2000s despite their Olympic success in the past decade.
With the next World Cup tournament coming in 2027, Stoney’s been given time to start working towards that goal, and a big quest for her has been to improve her team’s depth. To her credit, she’s navigated that quite well, as she’s done a great job of slowly integrating some new faces into her team, be it as starters or off the bench.
For her to go as youth-heavy as she did in this second Haiti friendly, however, shows how well that task has gone to date. Having earned her trust, those youngsters had the freedom to show what they can do in a bigger sample size, and they made the most of that opportunity in a 3-1 win.
"We want to win games, ultimately, that's the priority," Stoney told OneSoccer's Amy Walsh before the match. "But whilst were doing that this year, can we see new players? We need to increase the depth in our squad, and we've got a chance to do that tonight."
GOAL 🇨🇦
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) June 3, 2025
Evelyne Viens opens the scoring for the #CanWNT, heading the ball home after a great play from Jessie Fleming 🔥
🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/JivUJBqdyn
In the end, Canada’s result in that match will leave them with plenty to be desired, as they struggled in the second half after going up by three goals in the first 42 minutes, but they’ll be encouraged with how well that youthful starting XI played, with most of Canada’s struggles coming as they emptied their bench later in the game.
When they had that young group on the field, they were direct and dangerous on the ball, doing well to attack the box from out wide and central channels, but they were also good defensively, doing a good job of pressing and winning second balls in midfield.
They weren’t perfect, as Haiti created a couple of big chances in the first half in the moments they beat that pressure, but Canada more than made up for it with how dangerous they were on the ball. The first half stats tell the story - Canada had more possession (55%-45%), more shots (7-3) and more tackles (11-9), while also creating a whopping five big chances, showing how strong they were on both sides of the ball.
The second half left a lot to be desired, of course, as Canada were outpossessed 53%-47% and outshot 8-2, narrowly hanging on to their lead, but that can happen in a game where you go up early and then make seven substitutions, especially in a friendly match like this. 
The attacking momentum chart from this 3-1 win vs. Haiti, showing Canada's dominant start and quiet finish (SofaScore)
As Stoney noted afterwards, due to injuries, they were forced to be flexible with their game plan, with some players asked to play out of position, while others had to play more than they planned to, and some were forced to play when they weren’t expected to.
Yet, when speaking of injuries, that’s one of the many reasons why Stoney wants to expand this team’s depth. In the past, Canada have struggled to replace injured players ahead of major tournaments, such as at the 2023 World Cup, as they may not have been deep enough to overcome some key absences.
It’s not for a lack of options, as the last few months have shown, but one can only discover how good a team’s depth is by actually getting players on the pitch, and doing so for sustained periods. To that last point, that was something that Canada struggled with in the past half-decade - it was rare to see young players get extended runs in this team, as they had to contend for spot duty off the bench, and in the rare starts they had were often cut short.
Now, Stoney has been able to throw several youngsters into the fire, as she did in this game, and it’s starting to make a difference.
In fact, this newfound depth continues to push those who are in the squad to bigger heights. For example, when you see Janine Sonis put in a sparkling four-assist performance and Adriana Leon bag a brace on Saturday, as the two veterans stepped up in a big way in Scott’s send-off match, you have to imagine that was them sending a message to some of the younger players pushing them for minutes that they’re not going to give up their spots easily. 
On the flipside, these young players are embracing the challenge, and this second match also showed that.
Holly Ward might’ve been the best example of that, as she put in a player of the match performance in Montréal at left wing, scoring and assisting in just her second appearance for her country, as the 21-year-old first-year pro showed why she’s been a bright spot for the Vancouver Rise in the NSL’s debut season.
GOAL 🇨🇦🇨🇦
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) June 4, 2025
Holly Ward scores her first #CanWNT goal, on another header set up by Jessie Fleming 🔥
🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/ok2YkfozEp
Every time she got the ball, she made something happen, but she was just as hard working off the ball, as she finished with three shots, two dribbles, nine out of 13 won duels, two interceptions and five tackles.
“We’ve seen what she can do in the NSL, but to see that at this level, against a physically strong Haiti team that were excellent in moments, she was a real bright spark,” Stoney said of Ward. “To have someone who can naturally play off the left, one who can provide opportunities for other players but also score for herself by arriving into the box at the right moment, and it was good to see her sustain that in the game.”
GOAL 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) June 4, 2025
It’s three for the #CanWNT and a second for Evelyne Viens! Holly Ward turns distributor and sets up Viens with a well-weighted pass 🔥
🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/XB9PxT5MjZ
Then, elsewhere, Zara Chavoshi made the most of her first Canada start at centre back, pairing with Jade Rose, as Stoney went for the pair of 22-year-olds at centre back - a vote of confidence for Rose’s growing role in this team, as well as Chavoshi’s potential.
Combined with another big night for Emma Regan in midfield, as she won four out of six duels and had four tackles, it was a good showing for that trio of Regan, Chavoshi and Ward, who all entered this game with single-digit appearances for Canada, sitting as prime examples of some of the players who have benefitted from Stoney’s arrival. Plus, on another night, Olivia Smith could've rounded out this group, as she left this game early with an injury, further showing the impact of this young group.
While the new names stole the show in this game, however, they had some help from some veterans.
Jessie Fleming started this game with 144 caps, almost as many as the rest of her teammates combined (203), and Canada’s captain was a bright spot, generating two assists. Combined with the play of Evelyne Viens up front, as she scored her first-ever international brace for goals #7 and #8 in just her 11th start and 39th cap (she’s a prime example of someone who struggled to earn minutes for this team in the past as a youngster), and it was a good showing for a pair of Canada’s 2021 gold medallists.
Is Evelyne Viens making a great shout for a starting spot as the #CanWNT's no. 9 up top? 🇨🇦
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) June 4, 2025
Two goals tonight vs. Haiti brings her international tally to 8 ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/ZdtzH5Aa0s
For all of the focus on the new depth and young players, which are naturally easy to talk about in a stretch of friendly matches like this, the performance of Viens and Fleming in Montréal, as well as that of Sonis and Leon in Winnipeg, will be just as encouraging to see for Stoney.
At the end of the day, Canada will need all hands on deck if they’re to win a World Cup, and that includes their veterans, especially those who have won things at the highest levels for club and country, as that quartet all have done.
Given the potential that this young Canadian generation continues to show, however, don’t be surprised to see more of them going forward, leading to more performances like that of Ward, for example, as they try to push their experienced teammates.
Certainly, it was fitting to see Ward and a couple of the other new faces step up on a week where Canada honoured a great from their 2012 team in Scott, as they said goodbye to the last remaining member from a side that pushed this Canadian team to where it is today - clearly, the future is in strong hands.
“With the opponents we are playing, the fact that there is nothing on the line other than building, as it isn’t a competitive game, it means that we can bring in players and put them in,” Stoney said. “You don’t always know when to put them in, so it's important to give them that experience.”
