PREVIEW: CanWNT looking to finish 2024 on high note in friendlies vs. Iceland, Korea Republic

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The CanWNT have the opportunity to end 2024 on a high note this week, as they take on Iceland and South Korea in a pair of friendlies in Spain. 

Starting with their clash against Iceland on Friday, November 29th, and then continuing into their clash against South Korea on Tuesday, December 3rd, they’ll look to cap off what’s been a strange up-and-down year for this program. 

From the lows such as their rained-out loss to the US in the Gold Cup semi-finals and the drone scandal that rocked their Olympic campaign, to the highs such as their dramatic Olympic win vs. France or the fact that they haven’t lost a match in regular time all year, this has certainly been quite the year for this team. 

Now, however, they can end off on a good note, ensuring they keep their undefeated streak alive heading into the new year while officially starting preparation for the next cycle. 

Armed with some clarity about their future, as they now begin the search for a new head coach after the dismissal of Bev Priestman, it feels like they can begin to move on and start preparation for the 2027 World Cup in earnest. 

Certainly, when looking at their team for this camp, that sentiment looms large, as they’ve been able to call in a younger and more experimental group to help deal with a hefty list of injuries. 

Got the squad back in Spain! 🇪🇸 //
Le groupe est de retour en Espagne ! 🇪🇸#CANWNT pic.twitter.com/1obwHHUCOs

— CANWNT (@CANWNT) November 25, 2024

Because of that, look for this camp also to represent a fresh start. That almost feels ironic to say since it’ll cap off quite the rollercoaster of a year, but it shows why this window can be so important for this team, as it serves both as a chance to end an old chapter while starting to write the next one. 

With that in mind, here’s what to expect from this window from a Canadian perspective. 

Iceland looking to erase heartbreak in 2027 World Cup cycle:

To begin, Canada will face Iceland, who enter this camp ranked 13th in the world, having put together a solid 2024. 

Led by head coach Þorsteinn Halldórsson, Iceland has one big goal at the moment - qualify for their first-ever World Cup. After coming so close to qualifying in 2023, they feel they can get that over the line in 2027, and have begun preparing accordingly. 

And when it’s said they came so close to the 2023 World Cup, that’s no exaggeration - heading into the eighth and final matchday of Group C action in UEFA’s World Cup qualifiers, they sat in an automatic qualifying spot, which meant they could book a spot at the 2023 World Cup with a win or draw against the Netherlands on the final day. 

For 90 minutes, they looked to have done the job, too, as they held onto a 0-0 result, but then had their hearts broken late, as Esmee Brugts scored a 93rd-minute winner to push the Dutch into first place and the automatic World Cup qualification spot. 

19 year old Esmee Brugts sends The Netherlands to the World Cup. WOW pic.twitter.com/qMW3goMpyM

— SHE scores bangers (@SHEscoresbanger) September 6, 2022

As a result, Iceland had to go through a playoff, and there, they once again suffered more late heartbreak. Faced off against Portugal in a decisive playoff match, one that would’ve also sent them through to the World Cup, they fell 4-1 in a game that reached extra time tied at 1-1 before Portugal scored goals in the 92nd, 108th and 121st minute to secure the victory. 

Safe to say, those results will motivate Iceland in this next cycle, as they look to ensure they earn their spot in 2027. 

So far, they’re on the right track - first, they ensured they’d stick in League A of the UEFA Nations League for the next cycle by defeating Serbia in a playoff, and have since carried that good momentum into qualifiers for the 2025 Euros, where they amassed a record of 4W-1D-1L across six games, including a 3-0 win over Germany, to qualify for their fifth straight Euros. 

‼️ Islandia ya está clasificada para la Eurocopa de 2025

🇮🇸 La selección islandesa es el cuarto pasajero para el torneo continental, junto a Suiza, Alemania y España, después de golear por 3-0 a Alemania

👟 Jónsdottir, Jóhannsdóttir y Sigurdardóttir fueron las goleadoras pic.twitter.com/tYqJ3d2zO7

— Era Fútbol Femenino (@Erafutbolfem) July 12, 2024

Then, they recently took on the US in a pair of friendlies last window, where they held their own against the defending Olympic champions, falling 3-1 in both games. 

Because of that, they’ll feel they’re on the right track to start this 2027 cycle, something they’d love to further prove with a win against this Canadian side. 

Armed with a talented group of young players, look for them to rely on that youth in this camp - they called in a whopping 15 players 25 or under to their camp in the US, including five 20 or younger. Given that just two of the players they called into that camp had more than 50 caps to their name, they’re a team looking to build experience, embedding their young players into the system.

Despite their younger squad, however, make no mistake - they’ve got several players playing at quite a high level in Europe.  

In Germany, for example, they’ve got Karólína Lea Vilhjálmsdóttir, a 23-year-old midfielder at Bayer Leverkusen who already has 43 caps for Iceland, Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir, a 23-year-old forward playing at Wolfsburg who has 40 caps for Iceland, and Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir, a 29-year-old defender who already has 128 caps for her country. 

Then, in Italy, they’ve got Alexandra Jóhannsdóttir, a 24-year-old midfielder at Fiorentina and Cecilía Rán Rúnarsdóttir, a 21-year-old goalkeeper at Inter Milan, while in Spain they’ve got Hildur Antonsdóttir, a 29-year-old midfielder at Madrid CFF. 

You combine that with the rest of their squad, which includes a handful of players in the Swedish top flight and some others in the Danish top flight, and they’ve got quite a solid group of players. 

In terms of a playing style, they play a pretty consistent system, with slight tweaks - they’ve bounced between a 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3 and a 4-1-4-1, with the lone difference between the formations being how they use their midfielders. 

No matter what formation they use, however, Iceland are consistent in their approach - they don’t expect to hold a lot of the ball (they’ve averaged just under 42% of possession in 2024), as they look to sit back and then hit on the counter. As a result, they don’t average many passes per possession, and hit a higher percentage of long balls, as they look to absorb pressure centrally before sending their wide players and striker forward on the counter.

Because of that, look for this game to be a good test for Canada’s play in possession, as they’ll need to find a way to break down Iceland’s low block while not getting carved on the counter-attack.

(Iceland's last XI from their match against the US in October)

Can South Korea complete another successful World Cup cycle?

After their clash with Iceland, Canada will turn their focus to 19th-ranked South Korea, who have entered this World Cup cycle with much different expectations from Iceland. 

Having reached the last three World Cups, their goal is to continue that streak under new head coach Shin Sang-woo, as they want to return to the big tournament, where they’ll want to erase the frustrations from 2023. 

There, a slow start sunk them - after losses to Colombia and Morocco in their first two games, they recovered to draw Germany 1-1 in their last group stage match, a result that denied Germany a spot in the knockout rounds. 

Yet, while South Korea will take some solace in that last fact, the reality is that they have now gone two World Cups without a victory, with their last World Cup win coming at the 2015 edition in Canada, where they went on a run to the Round of 16. 

Because of that, their mission isn’t just to reach the 2027 World Cup, but to make some noise. 

To do that, however, look for them to first make some noise at the AFC Asian Cup in 2026. Given that tournament has also typically served as World Cup qualifiers, it’ll be a good chance for South Korea to build some momentum, especially after a big 2022 tournament, where they finished second place, falling to China in the final. 

The first time they’d ever reached the final at that tournament, they’ll want to build off that in the next edition, where they’ll dream of being able to find their first win. 

So far, however, their preparation has been mixed this year - they beat the Czech Republic and the Philippines in friendlies, but lost 5-1 to Portugal, lost to the US by a combined score of 7-0 in a pair of friendlies, and were recently beaten 4-0 by Japan. 

[FT] 대한민국🇰🇷 0-4 🇯🇵일본
신상우호의 첫 경기는 아쉽게 패배로 마무리합니다. 응원해주신 축구팬 여러분 감사드립니다.#대한민국 #여자 #축구 #국가대표팀 #친선경기 pic.twitter.com/hBLrbr5JDJ

— theKFA (@theKFA) October 26, 2024

As a result, they’ll look at this camp as a chance to apply some learnings from those matches, given that they’ll face Spain before facing Canada, giving them two stiff tests to end the year.

Armed with a squad that has a nice balance of experience and youth - they’ve got eight players 30 or older, and 10 players 26 or younger in this squad - they’ll feel they’re in a good position to build on what they’ve learned this year. 

Now, the big goal will be to fill in that gap between the younger players and the experienced ones - they’ve got 13 players who have 10 or fewer caps in this squad - but no better way to test some of those newer faces than in an environment like this. 

Interestingly, the majority of this squad is domestic-based - 24 of South Korea’s players play in Korea, with just two, Ji So-yun of the NWSL’s Seattle Reign and Lee Young-ju of LIGA F’s Levante Las Planas playing outside of their home country. In particular, So-yun is one to watch - she leads this team in active caps (160) and goals (70) and is still playing at a high level for Seattle at 33 after having had a strong eight-year stint for Chelsea between 2014 and 2022. 

Otherwise, some names to watch include Lee Jeong-eun, the 30-year-old midfielder who has six goals in just eight caps for South Korea, defender Choo Hyo-joo, the 24-year-old with four goals in 48 caps, forward Kang Chae-rim, the 26-year-old with eight goals in 34 caps, and forward Lee Eun-young, the 22-year-old who already has 15 caps.

In terms of a style of play, South Korea have interestingly played mostly with three centre backs, as their most-used formations have been the 3-4-3 and the 5-4-1 - they’ve primarily altered between those two set-ups this year.

𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗬 𝗢𝗡 𝗮𝘀 𝗢𝗡𝗘, 하나되어 빛나는 순간!✨
10월 원정 친선경기에 출전하는 🇰🇷여자축구국가대표팀의 선발명단을 공개합니다!

✔여자축구국가대표팀 친선경기
🇰🇷v🇯🇵#일본 10.26(토) 14:20 🏟 도쿄국립경기장
📺 TV조선, 쿠팡플레이, skySports#대한민국 #여자 #국가대표팀 #친선경기 pic.twitter.com/kwBnMBFRM1

— theKFA (@theKFA) October 26, 2024

 From there, much like Iceland, they haven’t been ones to hold the ball a whole lot, although they’ve done a better job of holding onto the ball given that they sit with an average of 47% of possession.

Despite that, they do a lot of different things with the ball - most of their shots come from positional attacks, but instead of patiently trying to break down teams on the ball, they try to play swiftly and directly, but with short and medium passes instead of long balls, hence their unique mix of lower possession numbers and a lower long ball percentage. Otherwise, they’re dangerous on set-pieces, something Canada will keep an eye on.  

Because of that, expect an interesting match-up, as South Korea will prioritize being solid defensively, much like they were in their last game vs. Canada (a 0-0 draw in 2022), before trying to break down Canada with their swift attacks in possession. 

What to expect from Canada?

In terms of this Canadian side, however, don’t be surprised if they look quite different from the team they’ve thrown out for most of 2024. 

Part of that will be out of necessity - given that they’re missing several key pieces up front and at the back, they’ll have to change something in this camp. 

The big question, however, will be to see what they change. For example, given that they’re missing two key centre backs in Kadeisha Buchanan and Jade Rose, does that tempt them to switch from the back three they’ve preferred to a back four? 

Given that could allow them to try out a midfield trio of Julia Grosso, Jessie Fleming and Simi Awujo while still playing three forwards could be a fun experiment, especially for that Iceland game, where Canada will have a lot of the ball and will need to break down a low block. 

Yet, that’s what’s intriguing about these sets of opponents - they’ll challenge Canada to step out of their comfort zone. This Canadian team knows it can sit back and grind out results in their back three - look at wins over France, and draws against Spain, Germany and the US this year (the draws against Germany and the US finished as PK losses) - Canada has proven they can grind out results against top teams. 

Where they’ve struggled, however, is to control games and break down opponents in possession, something they’ll get a lot of practice at doing in this camp. 

There, it’ll be up to them to find some solutions, and one of them could be to try out a three-player midfield trio, be it in a 3-5-2 or a 4-3-3, with the latter potentially looking something like this. 

Otherwise, the big thing to watch will be up front - with no Jordyn Huitema, Evelyne Viens and Cloé Lacasse, there’s an opportunity for some new faces to step up, with Marie Yasmine Alidou, Clarissa Larisey and Nyah Rose being among those who will look for a bigger role in this camp. 

Given that Canada is very familiar with what the likes of Janine Beckie, Deanne Rose, Nichelle Prince and Adriana Leon can provide, this could be a good opportunity for an Alidou, Larisey or N. Rose to slot in alongside the likes of Beckie, D. Rose, Prince or Leon, seeing how they’d mix in that scenario. 

GOAL 🇨🇦

Marie-Yasmine Alidou opens the scoring for the #CanWNT vs. Spain, getting her 1st goal in just her 3rd cap as she finishes off a transition play started by Evelyne Viens forcing a turnover and driving toward goal 😎

🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/pavXNG7m9i

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) October 25, 2024

Yet, that feels like the theme for Canada in this camp - this is a good chance to experiment. 

With a whole host of injuries and a new coach on the way, this is a good chance to build data for that new boss to go over when they arrive. 

Because of that, it’ll be hoped they try some things out in this camp, as they don’t need to run back what they’ve done all year. Given that they know they can get results that way, why not try something new and see what sticks?

No better opportunity to do that than the present, so look for Canada to hopefully try some new things in this camp.