The highlights were few and far between for Canada on Friday night.
Les Rouges fell 1-0 to the 24th-ranked Swiss, nicknamed La Nati, for the first time in their six meetings since 2010. Évelyne Viens’ AS Roma teammate Alayah Pilgrim scored the lone goal in the 12th minute, as the Canadians were blanked in back-to-back games for the first time under Casey Stoney.
Viens and Pilgrim weren’t the only connection between the two nations on Friday. Manchester City duo Jade Rose and Iman Beney lined up opposite each other for Canada and Switzerland respectively, while Sabrina D’Angelo’s Aston Villa teammate Noelle Maritz also started for the Swiss, coached by Pia Sundhage.
But, it was an injured Kadeisha Buchanan’s Chelsea peer Livia Peng who was tested first as kick-off came and went in front of over 10,000 at the Swissporarena.
Under two minutes in, Canadian winger Janine Sonis got on the end of a Rose diagonal that ran through the Swiss defence. In a tale to come, Sonis’ chip attempt beat Peng, but also proceeded to clear the keeper’s crossbar by mere inches.
Woken up by the chance, Sundhage’s side began to impose themselves on the match — not letting go for much of the way.
GOAL 🇨🇭
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) October 24, 2025
Switzerland strike first vs. the CanWNT 🇨🇦 as Alayah Pilgrim cleans up in the box with a cool finish 🎯
🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/cSLI3v2aXt
The physical play quickly generated a couple of chances, as Riola Xhemaili nodded a set-play off the training ground just wide, on the next sequence of play.
Three minutes later, Beney nudged Canadian defender Gabby Carle off the ball, allowing Pilgrim to run onto the ball and force an albeit easy save for Sheridan.
That moment would still serve as foreshadowing for the 12th minute, when Pilgrim struck again, this time netting the opener.
Unable to clear the ball from their 18-yard box, Sydney Schertenleib would see her cross clatter off Jayde Riviere and fall to Pilgrim to slot the ball under Xhemaili and into the back of the Canadian goal.
That painted the picture for much of the 90 minutes, as the Canadian backline, composed of Carle, Zadorsky, Rose and Riviere, seemed to lack the form that its reputation has been built upon, especially in the absence of the injured Buchanan and Vanessa Gilles.
Technical quality also seemed to be in limited supply for Les Rouges, with several passes in the middle and defensive thirds ending up at the feet of their opposition.
That, in addition to unusual misses from Sonis, the first of which came in the 19th minute. Once again played in on a right-to-left switch by Olivia Smith, Sonis’ extra touches took the winger within yards of Peng, cutting down the angles on the Canadian’s shot.
But, perhaps the worst moment of the afternoon for Canadian fans came in the 32nd minute, as the near-assist to Sonis became Smith’s last major action of the afternoon. In her second collision with Swiss defender Julia Stierli, Smith’s left knee impacted the turf hard, requiring her to be carted off the pitch in tears.
Stoney turned to Marie-Yasmine Alidou in the aftermath, almost immediately turning the page. Alidou, in a carbon copy of Smith’s cross, found Sonis’ run with a long switch ball.
Once again, however, Sonis — staring down the keeper on a one-on-one that most would have backed her to finish — was only able to find a save out of Peng.
And, with good things coming in threes — for the Swiss, that is — Sonis, bearing down on goal in the 53rd minute, would see her third one-on-one chance blazed over the bar.
Those misses would define the Les Rouges performance on the night. Stoney’s side fought their way back in through the rest of the second half, including two more chances, one where an unlucky Sonis saw her effort pushed onto the post, only to be further frustrated when it was ruled a goal kick.
There was one hopeful prospect, as Florianne Jourde made her senior debut, entering in the 66th minute.
“It means everything. It’s hard to find words to describe how I felt. Just a lot of excitement … and pride representing my country at the senior level,” Jourde told Canada Soccer after the match. Jourde’s comments also came with a firm focus on Canada’s clash against the Netherlands on Tuesday.
The CanWNT are back in action on Tuesday against the 11th-ranked Netherlands. The match is expected to be even closer than Friday’s affair, with the Dutch being led by the likes of Arsenal legend Vivianne Miedema (now with Manchester City) and star Chelsea talent Wieke Kaptein.
