AFC Toronto's Kaylee Hunter highlights Canada's U-20 World Cup squad

When the Canadian women’s team competes in the upcoming FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland, it’ll do so with one of the brightest stars from the Northern Super League spearheading the attack.  

Coach Cindy Tye announced her 21-player roster on Friday and included in the list is AFC Toronto forward Kaylee Hunter, the 2025 NSL rookie of the year.  

The U-20 World Cup takes place from Sept. 5-27 and will see 24 nations participate in the tournament. Canada is in Group B and will face England (Sept. 5), Brazil (Sept. 8) and Tanzania (Sept. 11) in the cities of Bielsko-Biała and Katowice.  

Hunter, an 18-year-old from Calgary, was second in scoring during the inaugural NLS campaign in 2025 with a team-high 16 goals during the regular season and playoffs and was named to the league's best 11 team. She also had four assists as she played a big role in helping Toronto win the Supporters' Shield as the NSL regular season champions.   

So far this season she has seven goals and two assists in 16 appearances.   

“I want to hit 20-plus goals,” Hunter told TFC Republic prior to the start of the 2026 NSL campaign.  

“I want to honestly put my head down and work every day, even in the training environments, get better, make all the little fixes. And I want to continue on my path with the national team. And as far as the team goes, we have the same goal as last year, just trying to go forward and win the league, make it to the final and win everything that we can.”  

Having previously represented Canada at both the under-17 and under-20 levels, Hunter made her senior team debut in this year’s SheBelieves Cup and went on to earn a second cap.   

"I think Kaylee's potential is extremely high. It's not just a technical ability. I think it's her mentality. She's got bite, she's got desire, she's got hunger. .... She's not scared of the physicality of the game. She scores goals and that is so rare in the game. So, I think she can bring a lot," senior team coach Casey Stoney said before the SheBelieves Cup. 

But Stoney also said she wanted Hunter to spend more time with the U-20 team ahead of the World Cup, which explains her limited opportunities with the senior side in 2026.  

Other NSL players named to Tye’s squad include defenders Bridget Mutipula and Chloe Taylor (Vancouver Rise FC) and midfielder Olivia Chisholm (AFC Toronto). Midfielder Taegan Stewart (Calgary Wild FC) is one of six alternates.  

Hunter isn’t the only player on the squad with senior team experience as she’s joined by forward Annabelle Chukwu (University of Notre Dame) and midfielder Jeneva Hernandez Gray (Sporting CP). 

The Canadian team will gather on Aug. 23 in Lublin, Poland, before moving to their tournament base camp in Bielsko-Biała a week later. Canada will play a closed-door exhibition match against Spain on Aug. 31 as part of their final preparations for the World Cup.  

The 24-nation field at the World Cup is divided into six groups. The top two teams in each group, plus the top four third-place teams overall, advance to the round of 16.  

Canada qualified for the World Cup by reaching the semifinals of the 2025 Concacaf U-20 Championship, before going on to beat Mexico in the final in extra-time. It was Canada’s third Concacaf U-20 Championship title and first since 2008.  

This summer marked Canada’s 10th World Cup appearance since finishing as finalists (its best ever showing) at the inaugural tournament on home soil in 2002. Canada was eliminated in the round of 16 by Spain at the 2024 World Cup in Colombia.  

All of Canada’s matches at the FIFA U-20 World Cup will air live on TSN.  

CANADA’S ROSTER  

Goalkeepers: Noelle Henning (Michigan State University), Madison London (Creighton University) and Khadijah Cissé (Creighton University).  

Defenders: Bridget Mutipula (Vancouver Rise FC), Iba Oching (University of Iowa), Janet Okeke (Florida State University), Stephanie Schoeley (Providence College) and Chloe Taylor (Vancouver Rise FC).  

Midfielders: Olivia Chisholm (AFC Toronto), Jadea Collin (University of Wisconsin–Madison), Sienna Gibson (University of British Columbia), Jeneva Hernandez Gray (Sporting CP), Teegan Melenhorst (University of Miami), Inès Nourani (University of Connecticut), Noelle Sather (Baylor University) and Liana Tarasco (University of Iowa).  

Forwards: Sariyah Bailey (Louisiana State University), Annabelle Chukwu (University of Notre Dame), Kaylee Hunter (AFC Toronto), Léa Larouche (University of Iowa) and Emma Yee (University of Illinois). 

Alternates: Defenders Amy Medley (Arizona State University) and Victoria Rocci (University of South Alabama); midfielders Taegan Stewart (Calgary Wild FC) and Emily Wong (North Carolina State University); and forwards Kierra Blundell (Arizona State University) and Melisa Kekic (University of Michigan).