Canada coach Casey Stoney wants to win but has her eye on the bigger picture

After a 1-0 loss to No. 24 Switzerland and on the eve of a date with the 11th-ranked Dutch, Canada coach Casey Stoney offered a dose of perspective Monday.

Coupled with a 3-0 loss to the United States in the game before, on July 2, the Swiss setback sent the broadcast crew to the record book to see the last time the ninth-ranked Canadian women had lost two in a row (February and April 2023, 3-0 to Japan and 2-1 to France).

Stoney sees the bigger picture, however.

“I said to the team the other day everybody needs to calm down a little bit in terms of results, because this is a process we’re going through,” she told a virtual availability.

She noted the Swiss and Dutch are both “competition-ready right now,” thanks to the “very competitive” UEFA Women’s Championship in July. In contrast, the Canadian women’s last competitive game was Aug. 2, 2024 — a penalty shootout loss to Germany in the quarterfinal of the Paris Olympics

“It’s not an excuse, but it’s a reason,” Stoney said. “And I knew the Swiss would be very good. They’re a very improved team. They’ve got some fantastic players. Their forward (Sydney Schertenleib) doesn’t play for Barcelona because she’s not good. She’s very good.”

Canada outshot the Swiss 13-8 but only managed three shots on goal, compared to four for the home side. Despite that misfiring, Stoney saw the glass more than half-full given the scoring chances.

“I’m actually really pleased by the fact that we created so many chances the other night. We haven’t created chances like that in a long time.”

The Dutch are coached by Arjan Veurink, who took over the team following the European championship. Veurink was an assistant coach under Sarina Wiegman from 2017 to 2021, following Wiegman when she took over England.

He returned to the Dutch fold as head coach after England’s European title. Stoney is expecting to face a possession-based Dutch side Tuesday in Nijmegen, albeit one taking shape under new management.

“He’s had one game with then against Poland (a scoreless draw Friday in Gdansk) so that’s all we’ve been able to judge them on,” said Stoney.

“It’s a very very good test for us,” the former England captain added. “We’re playing challenging games for a reason. Right now obviously we want to win games. But if we don’t, it’s not the end of the world. It’s a process to get to ’27 (the next FIFA World Cup in Brazil) and if we have to struggle now and we have to get things wrong to get them right, I’m OK with that. I’m absolutely fine.

“We have new players coming in, a new style of play … There’s positives but there’s still a lot to work on.”

All that and more in one two-minute response to a question abut how the Dutch might differ from the Swiss in terms of challenge.

Message received. Loud and clear.

In a world where coaches often resort to clichés or don’t say anything, Stoney’s candour and passion are refreshing.

The Canadians will face the Dutch without injured forwards Olivia Smith and Kaylee Hunter, who have both returned to their clubs.

Smith is back with England’s Arsenal after leaving the Swiss game grimacing in a golf cart. The 21-year-old star was hurt in her first start for Canada since joining Arsenal from Liverpool in July for a then-world-record transfer fee of one million pounds ($1.87 million).

Smith was injured in a heavy fall in the 32nd minute in Lucerne, bodied to the ground by Swiss defender Viola Calligaris as they challenged for the ball. Smith spent some five minutes on the turf receiving medical attention before being taken off the field.

Smith had received physical treatment from the Swiss from the opening kickoff.

Asked about the officiating, or lack thereof, Stoney noted wryly she had a history of being fined for comments about the referee. But she didn’t hold back.

“I get a little bit more frustrated when it comes to player safety and I felt like there was a lot of stuff getting let go that wasn’t protecting players … And I was asking the questions and I was just getting completely ignored,” she said. “So in the end I just sat down and shut up because there was zero point in me saying anything.”

“It wasn’t good enough.” she concluded.

Hunter, a 17-year-old, is back with AFC Toronto. She arrived in camp with a knock and did not see action against the Swiss.

Canada holds a 9-1-4 record against the Dutch.

The teams played to a scoreless draw the last time they met at the Tournoi de France in March 2020. The Dutch won 2-1 the game before that, at the 2019 World Cup in France, a victory that snapped Canada’s 12-game unbeaten streak (9-0-3) against the Netherlands.

They drew 1-1 at the 2015 World Cup in Montreal.

The Canadian women will close out the year in the November international window with a two-match series against No. 8 Japan, with games in Nagasaki on Nov. 29 and Dec. 2.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2025