✍️ Ivan Sørensen

The Canadian Women's National Team takes on Denmark at Montréal's Stade Saputo on Friday night.

The 12th-ranked squad comes off a 2026 campaign with fairly good results, including wins over Serbia and Sweden and two losses to Italy in World Cup qualification. Eliminated in the round of 16 at the 2023 World Cup against Australia, they endured an underperforming 2025 Euros, losing all three group games.

The roster for the test matches against Canada is a mix of players from across Europe, with many based in Denmark.

Notable players include Stine Ballisager, a regular in the Bayern defensive line, and Pernille Harder, who brings considerable veteran talent to the squad, having played for clubs like Wolfsburg, Chelsea, and Bayern, along with 173 senior international caps for Denmark. Another offensive weapon is Caroline Møller, bringing experience from Milan, Madrid and Benfica to the roster.

The roster includes seven options with five or fewer caps for the national team (though most have U19 or U17 experience, they are hardly rookies), allowing for some interesting possibilities in the line-up and off the bench.

✍️ Fleur Dias

For Canada, the stakes are a little different — a higher-ranked team but haven't qualified for the World Cup yet — but the mindset is clear.

Head coach Casey Stoney does not view the two-game window against Denmark as an "exhibition". With World Cup and Olympic qualifying on the horizon, Canada is using every opportunity to test itself against top-level opposition and sharpen the identity it hopes to carry into the next cycle.

"This is not a friendly. This is about performance," Stoney said. "We want to play the top opponents around the world."

Gabrielle Carle echoed that approach, pointing to Denmark's strength and its recent success in a qualifying group that included Italy and Sweden.

"They have a very good side," Carle said. "I think for us, it's great preparation."

Stoney expects the visitors to be difficult to break down, with a five-player back line likely to force Canada to find different ways to create openings.

At the same time, Denmark also has players who can punish Canada in transition, including veteran forward Pernille Harder.

For Canada, that makes controlling those transition moments just as important as finding ways to attack.

"We want to be creative, we want to make sure that we can score goals," Stoney said. "We're going to take a few more risks to do that, but we also know that we've got to be really mindful in terms of transition."

That balance has been central to Canada's evolution under Stoney.

"We want to be forward-thinking and progressive," Stoney said. "We want to still be hard to beat … but also have the ability to control the game with and without the ball."

Friday's match will offer a chance to see how far that evolution has come and how some of Canada's younger players can contribute.

Kaylee Hunter enters the window after a strong U20 World Cup, where Stoney watched the midfielder closely. Her inclusion is not simply about gaining senior-team experience. Stoney said Hunter earned her place through her club form and U20 performances, particularly after improving the intensity of her pressing and work without the ball.

"She's not in this squad to make up the numbers. Nobody is," Stoney said. "Everybody's competing for places."

That competition is part of a broader shift within the Canadian programme, with six (possibly seven) Northern Super League players now in camp. Stoney believes a domestic professional league is giving Canadian players more opportunities to develop at home while adding depth to the national team.

"There's a professional league, and a place and a platform for our players to play," she said. "They now have a place to play at home."

One player who represents both the programme's present and past is Janine Sonis.

After moving to fullback, Sonis has enjoyed a standout club season, scoring 12 goals, and Stoney believes her attacking instincts can add another dimension to Canada.

"She's very good when she arrives in those areas," Stoney said. "It seems like everything she touches at the moment goes in."

Prior to this window, veteran player Allysha Chapman announced her retirement from the national team. Her importance goes beyond her current form. After years together in the national-team environment, Stoney has seen Chapman become one of the team's leaders and now has the chance to share the final chapter of her international career with her.

Stoney also remembers competing against Chapman earlier in her career, including at the Olympics, making Friday another chance to celebrate the longevity of a player who has helped shape the programme.

"We're really privileged that she gets to do that one more time with us and we get to celebrate her career," Stoney said. "She played in an era when it was not easy, where you really had to fight for everything."

That emotional element will be part of Canada's return to Montréal.

For Carle, playing at home carries its own significance. She grew up watching CF Montréal and now gets to represent Canada in front of friends and family in the same city.

"It's always such a privilege and honour, playing in front of friends and family in the stadium," Carle said. "It's just always good to be home."

However special the occasion, it cannot overshadow the task.

Canada is trying to build a team capable of controlling games, creating more chances and remaining difficult to beat. Denmark provides a high-level test of all three.

The visitors have already qualified for the World Cup. Canada is still building toward that opportunity.

For Stoney, that difference is precisely what makes the matchup valuable.

"These games become really important," she said, pointing to Canada's desire to face top European opponents and raise its level of competition.

Friday is not simply about returning home. It is another step toward figuring out what this version of Canada can become.

One question around the Canadian camp has since been clarified. Vancouver Rise striker and NSL top scorer Jessica De Filippo was spotted training with the team earlier in the day, with her presence initially unaddressed during media availability. Canada Soccer has since confirmed that De Filippo joined the CANWNT for a session as a training player while she was available, before returning to Vancouver to train with the Rise. While she was not officially part of the squad for the window, the opportunity gave the 12-goal NSL standout a look inside the national team environment and potentially a first step toward more to come.