Canadian women set for South Korea friendly, the final test of a tumultuous 2024

Interim Canada coach Cindy Tye expects South Korea to provide a different look than Iceland did on Friday when the teams meet Tuesday in Spain in the Canadian women's last outing of the year.

How different remains to be seen, with the 19th-ranked Koreans under new coach Shin Sang-woo, who was put in charge last month. He succeeds English coach Colin Bell, who stepped down in June.

South Korea is coming off a 5-0 drubbing at the hands of third-ranked Spain on Friday in Cartagena, Spain. Canada and Iceland drew 0-0 the same day in the Pinatar Arena in Murcia, which is also hosting Tuesday's contest.

"They're a group that's come under new leadership so they're adjusting as well," Tye said of the Koreans. "We've noticed a different roster, the ones in camp, from some of the games that we've looked at."

The sixth-ranked Canadian women tied Spain 1-1 in the October international window, their first outing since exiting the Paris Olympics at the quarterfinal stage in early August.

South Korea won't present the kind of physical challenge posed by 13th-ranked Iceland.

"Definitely a different look than the first game we played," Tye said Monday in a virtual availability from Spain. "They're a very technical team. We can expect a lot of short-combination plays, playing through midfield which will definitely be a contrast to the last match."

The Canadian women are 7-1-1 all-time against South Korea, unbeaten in their last five meetings. The teams drew 0-0 last time they met, in June 2022 in Toronto.

Like Canada, South Korea failed to reach the knockout rounds at the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The Koreans went home after losing to Colombia and Morocco and drawing Germany.

Korea, whose squad includes Seattle Reign midfielder Ji So-yun, failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics.

Canadian 'keeper Sabrina D'Angelo gave way to Lysianne Proulx at the start of the second half Friday after colliding with an Iceland player in front of goal. It marked the first senior cap for Proulx, who plays her club football in Italy for Juventus.

Tye said D'Angelo has been "getting better every day" and doing some light training.

"She'll be back as good as new soon enough,: she added,

Kailen Sheridan, the team's No. 1, 'keeper is likely to see action Tuesday.

Canada is missing the injured Kadeisha Buchanan, Sydney Collins, Cloe Lacasse, Evelyne Viens, Jade Rose and Quinn. Forward Jordyn Huitema is unavailable due to personal reasons.

North Carolina State University defender Janet Okeke and SMU forward Nyah Rose, in their first senior call-ups, did not see action against Iceland.

Okeke, an 18-year-old from Laval, Que., and Rose, a 19-year-old from Markham, Ont., represented Canada at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in September in Colombia. Jade Rose, Nyah's older sister, has already won 26 senior caps but the 21-year-old Harvard University defender misses the Spain trip through injury.

Jeneva Hernandez Gray, an 18-year-old midfielder from the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls elite team in her second senior call-up, also did not play Friday.

"There will definitely be some different faces in (Tuesday's) lineup," said Tye.

The Canadian women are 8-0-7 this year, with three of those draws turning into penalty shootout losses to Germany (in the Paris Olympics quarterfinal) and the top-ranked United States (in the SheBelieves Cup final and the CONCACAF W Gold Cup semifinal).

Another draw produced a shootout win over Brazil (in the SheBelieves Cup semifinal).

Tye, who coaches the Canadian under-20 women, is in charge for the November friendlies while Canada Soccer searches for a permanent head coach.

"I've really enjoyed it," she said of working with the senior team.

"It's a great environment to be in," added Tye, who doubles as associate athletic director and women's head coach at Dalhousie University in Halifax. "You're working with great players, the majority of them professional players."

The governing body has said head coach Bev Priestman will not be returning in the wake of the recent independent report into the Olympic drone-spying scandal. Priestman, assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joey Lombardi are currently serving one-year suspensions from FIFA, with Lombardi having already resigned his Canada Soccer position.

The break after the November international window will likely be welcomed after a tumultuous year that saw the team under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons as it tried unsuccessfully to defend its Olympic title.

"We've actually seen the group throughout the week get a little bit lighter, I would say … There's no major competition on the horizon," said Tye. "I actually think there's a piece of this that's been really good for them. to get together without that, say, pressure of what's coming next in terms of competition.

"And they're all going back to different environments … I think the New Year and the holiday season will be a great break for all of them."

European-based players will return to their clubs while NWSL players head off to their off-season break.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 2, 2024

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press