Canadian women look for second straight friendly win against Denmark

While Allysha Chapman has never played under current Canada coach Casey Stoney, the veteran fullback is a familiar face.

Stoney, who won 130 caps for England, recalls playing against Chapman.

“I just remember she was so hard to beat, so tenacious, so gritty,” Stoney told a news conference Sunday. “She left it all out there.

“And the mentality that she brought to the team still remains. It’s like the core identity of this team.”

Chapman last played for Canada at the 2023 World Cup, coming off the bench in the 4-0 loss to co-host Australia in Melbourne that ended the Canadians’ campaign. The 37-year-old left back from Courtice, Ont., will get one final hurrah Monday, earning her 100th cap in her swan song for Canada in a friendly against Denmark in Toronto.

For Chapman, who plays her club football for the NWSL‘s Houston Dash, it’s an old but new experience.

“It’s a little bit strange,” she acknowledged. “I haven’t been in the [Canada] environment in a long time. So I feel like’s everything new and I feel like I’m 18 again coming into a national team camp. A lot of new faces. There’s excitement and there’s also a little dread, because this is really and truly the end.

“I’m just excited to be able to share it with my family.”

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The ninth-ranked Canadians edged the 12th-ranked Danes on Friday in Montreal in the opening match of the two-game friendly series, winning a penalty shootout 4-2 after substitute Olivia Smith’s 84th-minute goal drew Canada even at 1-1 before an announced crowd of 10,162 at Saputo Stadium.

Canada Soccer reported some 11,000 tickets sold for the BMO Field meeting as of Sunday. Chapman is expecting some 25 to 30 family members and friends.

Monday’s game marks Canada Soccer’s send-off to a player who helped Canada win bronze and gold at the 2016 Rio and pandemic-delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, respectively, and represented Canada at the 2015, 2019 and 2023 World Cups.

On the field, Chapman was a pit bull of a defender for Canada.

John Herdman, who coached the Canadian women from 2011 to 2018, called Chapman “one of the best one-vs-one defenders” he had ever come across.

“What I loved about Allysha is she had that sort of old-school style of defending,” Herdman told The Globe from Indonesia, where he coaches the men’s national team. “She knew how to tackle but she also knew how to leave a little bit on the opponent to sort of remind them that they were in for a tough day.

“I can’t imagine any winger in world football wanted to play against her because she was just so tenacious.”

Herdman also recalled the hard-nosed Chapman playing through pain.

After separating her shoulder in Canada’s quarter-final victory over France at the Rio Olympics, she came off the bench in the bronze-medal match against Brazil to help Canada to a 2-1 win.

Off the field, Chapman – known as Chappy by her teammates – has always been a popular member of the Canadian team.

“She was just always one to crack the funniest jokes,” said veteran defender Shelina Zadorsky. “But the thing with Chappy is you knew what you were going to get on the field – it was a 100-per-cent effort, grit, determination and she’ll never give up.

“That kind of player is so valued.”

For Stoney, honouring Chapman is just the right thing to do, given her commitment to the cause since making her senior debut in October 2014.

“And I think we’ve not done this well enough on any national teams in the past, paying the respect that’s due to the players and making sure they have their moment in the [lime] light which they deserve. … We want this to be a special night and it’s exactly what she deserves.”

Chapman, who gave birth to son Tavish in February 2024, is out of contract with Houston after this season but hopes to keep playing at club level.

Under an agreement with the Danes, Friday’s game saw a slew of substitutes with Zadorsky the only Canadian starter to play the full 90 minutes.

Stoney expects Monday’s contest to feature fewer subs.

The game is the last for Canada before the CONCACAF W Championship, which serves as both a World Cup and Olympic qualifier.

Canada opens Nov. 28 against No. 56 Panama in Mansfield, Tex., with the winner to face either No. 28 Mexico or No. 47 Haiti in the semi-final.

The top four teams will qualify for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil, while two additional teams will advance to a playoff tournament.

The two finalists and the third-place team will qualify for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Should the second-ranked U.S. reach the semi-finals, all four semifinalists will qualify.

Also competing are No. 41 Jamaica, No. 43 Costa Rica and No. 78 El Salvador.

The CONCACAF tournament is important for another reason, with the Canadian women looking to pick up enough FIFA ranking points to crack the top eight so as to become seeded team in the World Cup draw.