Casey Stoney taking Canada's player pool issues head on
In a 1-on-1 interview, Stoney reflects on her time in charge so far, the challenges she's issued to her players and Canada Soccer, and more.
Hired as the new coach of the Canada's women's team in January, Casey Stoney got off to a flying start by leading her side to six wins in her first eight games in charge with just one loss.
But the Canadians hit a brick wall when it was blanked 3-0 by the United States in Washington, D.C., in an international friendly on July 2, in a game that was the team's first against a higher-ranked nation under Stoney. The U.S. was the No. 1 ranked nation in the world at the time, seven spots above Canada, who was coming off wins over No. 43 Costa Rica and No. 53 Haiti.
After the defeat to the U.S., Stoney talked about her team needing to face top-tier nations on a regular basis, especially as it looks to qualify for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil. She also bemoaned her team's fitness and warned that she'll only pick players for national team duty who are getting regular minutes with their pro clubs.
"Everything's been too easy. I think we've played opponents that have been far lower ranked, and we come against the number one [team] in the world, and we fell short. So, yeah, I think it's a reality check. I think it's a reality check for everybody," Stoney said.
Canada, now No. 9 in the world, will face No. 24 Switzerland on Friday in Lucerne, before facing the Netherlands (ranked 11th) four days later in Nijmegen.
In this one-on-one interview with TFC Republic, Stoney reflects on her time in charge thus far, the challenges she's issued to her players and Canada Soccer, and much more.
John Molinaro
This Q&A has been lightly edited and trimmed for brevity and clarity.
You recently embarked on a cross-country tour of Canada where you checked in with every Northern Super League team, visited local youth clubs and academies, and watched a lot of youth level games. What motivated you to do that?
What I've tried to do, especially since we've had the time in the summer, is to try and get to as many clubs as I can. I visited with Canadian players who are playing in the UK, and then I wanted to make sure I made a really concerted effort to visit the NSL clubs, too. But not just spend a couple of days. I wanted to understand the local areas, the infrastructures, and what the youth landscape looks like. Obviously, every club is going to have its very unique challenges as part of a startup league in year one. I've been a part of two startup clubs [Manchester United and San Diego Wave], so I can share a little bit of experience on that as well.
It was really good to get in and spend some time, see the players working in their natural environments, get to know the staff, the landscapes and just how beautiful the country is. To be honest, I've seen some really stunning places in my visits. I also managed to get a few games in as well. So, to just meet and catch up with some of my staff who obviously live in Canada, it's been really important to be able to have those touch points. It's been a long but worthwhile few weeks in terms of getting to visit those clubs and understanding more. I'm very much from Europe. I've worked in North America, but in the U.S., so understanding the Canadian landscape is something that I was very keen to do, because I think once I understand the challenges, I can understand the opportunities, too.
Any favourite cities in your travels?
[Halifax] is absolutely beautiful. I think I went at a really nice time as well in the summer. I loved Calgary. And I love Vancouver. I've got good memories in Vancouver from back in 2015 at the World Cup. I had great experiences at all the NSL clubs; they've got some fantastic people working there and with the right intentions to grow the league, to grow the game, and to make sure that it's as professional as it can be.
Were there any sort of significant learnings or takeaways from your tour?
Some of the learnings were around the youth landscape; what challenges there are with the vastness of the country and the limited population. I remember being asked after the U.S. game how they keep churning out all these young players. Why isn't Canada able to do that? How is Canada gonna be able to keep up? And I was like, well, there's a 300 million population in the United States, and also a youth structure in the U.S. that's been established for many, many years. And so, I think what I learned was what we have in place and what we can help with. How can we make sure that all young players have access to the game?
It's a pay to play model in North America; it's very different from the UK, where it's grassroots and it's accessible to most. So, one of the things was, how do you make it accessible to everybody? How do you make sure in and around your local area that you're developing talent? What does the competition look like for the players coming through the pathways?
One of the big things I said to all clubs was concentrate on the first team and establish that first and make sure that is really established from an infrastructure and resources point of view. Then look at how you can resource your academy. You need to understand the challenges and the politics and different things that go on before you can build that out.
You were hired as Canada's coach in January. How has the job been so far?
I think it's generally been positive. There are some things we need to take care of in terms of organizationally, like playing better opponents. Hence, why the October window and the November windows [two games vs. No. 8 Japan] are really important to us, because I don't think we set ourselves up for success playing lower ranked teams and then playing number one in the world. That's a massive jump.
I think we've been able to experiment quite a lot, which has actually got me to a point now where I know how I want to play and what I want to do with the players. and what players we've got. Because it's not a club; you can't say "I want to play this system," and then go out and get the players to fit in. You've got what you've got. So, it's about nurturing the talent that you've got, setting them up for success, and putting them in positions to be successful. So, I feel really confident that we're there now. We've made some mistakes along the way. I've made some mistakes along the way, and I think that's what this time off has given us.
It is a shame that we haven't had a competitive game [since the summer], but we've utilized that time well by getting to know the players and what the players' needs are, and what they want from their national team. I think the first six months was about building trust back in the players and the players getting to know me and the staff, what we want to do and how we want to deliver. Now it's about turning the experiment into consistent performances at a high level.
You mentioned how you want to play. How would you describe it?
Possession with a purpose to score goals. I'm not a coach who wants us to have 70 per cent possession and an XG of 0.4. I'd rather we have 50 per cent possession, and 2.0 expected goals, but still be hard to beat. I think we lost a little bit of that against the U.S. I think we played with a bit of fear, which I don't want us to do. I want us to play a little bit braver, but we can still be braver and keep the ball and be hard to beat. And if we keep our connections closer, we keep our distances tighter, and we actually have more support around the ball, we will actually be harder to beat, because we'll be better in transition moments.
So, it's kind of changing the mindset there and trying to create and score more goals, and you've got to be able to get in the opponent's half and sustain it in the opponent's half. So, I think it's about still maintaining that “being hard to beat” piece, which we have lost a little bit, and that's up to us to drive that in the next camp and next games. And then it's what we do with the ball. Because if you're going to go into a major tournament and try and be successful, you can't play without the ball for seven games consistently. It's impossible. So, I think we have to have an element of control with the ball, but with a purpose. It's always with a purpose to play forward. We want to get the ball into our attacking players in the early phases as quickly as we can. We want to get in the opponent's half as quickly as we can. That doesn't mean we're a direct team. It's about having clear principles and ways of playing.
John Molinaro
You mentioned before about having to gain the trust of the players. Was that a difficult process? Were there challenges to overcome?
Definitely. When you only have them for 10 days every couple of months, you can't build those relationships as naturally and organically as you can in a club situation. It wasn't just the players; it was staff, too. The staff have been through some difficult experiences. I think it's about action. We can all stand in front of the room and talk, but I think talk is cheap. So, it was about showing what we were going to do, who we are, and living by those values, and getting people to understand that I lead in a certain way. I am a relationship-based coach. I like to understand people that I'm working with. I'm going to have high demands on people, but I will support them in equal measures.
I did make a lot of changes at the start, and I think that sometimes change is difficult for people, so that can sometimes take time to settle. I still think the players are getting to know me, and I'm getting to know the players. Now it's about what do we do out of camp? How do we make sure that we have those connections with players out of camp, so that as soon as we come back in, we've got that rapport, and everyone knows the direction we're going in.
Has the job been what you expected? Have there been sort of any major surprises or curve balls along your way?
When I came in, I was very open minded and my eyes were open. I was very aware of the challenges and what the team has been through in the past. I'd managed Kailen [Sheridan] for three years [at San Diego], so I'd seen some of the different issues that they've been through. I feel like Canada Soccer is probably in the best place it's ever been, with [general secretary and CEO] Kevin Blue at the helm. I think he was a big reason why I took the job. So, no curveballs, really.
It's just now being really succinct and smart with how we work, and making sure that we work smarter, not harder, because we have limited time. Next year, we only have five international windows; we don't even have six. So, how do we utilize the time that we've got? How do we make sure that we're playing the highest level of opponents so we can be stretching ourselves? We don't want it easy because that's not setting us up for success. Beating Haiti and Costa Rica, that's not where we need to be; we need to be playing against top opponents.
What do you see as the biggest challenges as you look ahead to the 2027 FIFA World Cup in Brazil?
I think the talent pool; it's not big enough. [U.S. coach] Emma Hayes could leave out here entire group of European club players. I couldn't do that. I wouldn't be able to put a team out. If we take the U.S. game, for instance, missing Jayde Riviere and Olivia Smith, we can't afford that. So, the big challenge is how do we get everybody fit and available?
One of biggest challenges is some of our players aren't playing minutes for their clubs. That's a big problem for us. And there's quite a high percentage of players, especially throughout the summer and going into the winter, that are not playing and not starting games and not playing a lot of minutes. So, that needs to change. That is a challenge. You can't go into a World Cup with 40 per cent your squad not starting their club games. You can't expect to win, especially when you don't have a huge talent pool, either. So, I think it's trying to make sure that we've got players in the right environments that are playing consistently.
It's about making sure that we're playing the best opponents moving into the World Cup, and the biggest challenge is how do we make sure the environment is as competitive as it can be. And that's squad selection, that's training, and that's obviously the games that we're going to be playing.
You were pretty vocal after the U.S. match when you talked about not having enough players who are playing regularly at club level and having to play a higher calibre of opponents. Are you getting the proper support from Canada Soccer with regard to arranging tougher opponents? Do you feel the players have heard what you said about playing regularly for their clubs?
I've done a calculation. We have the players in camp for less than 15 per cent of the entire year. So, the work has to be done away from us, and that's about playing for your club. We've got some young players in environments where they're still learning and they're not playing games. Training is important, but playing is crucial. If you think about being coached, you're generally coached more if you're in the starting team. So, you're going to learn more. I think that's a challenge for us.
I think if we can remove as many challenges from an organizational point of view by playing top opponents, that's big. But that's a challenge because not many countries will travel to Canada if we want to play at home; that becomes a challenge. We probably can't play at home next summer because of the [men's] World Cup and the challenges of the calendars. If you think about Europe, they're always in qualifying. We are in danger in North America of falling behind, because Europeans now are competing so often. Think about the UEFA Nation's League, Olympic qualifiers, World Cups, Euros – they're competing at the highest level. They're always playing against other top nations all the time, and it's always for something. So, there's always consequences. We don't have that when we do play qualifications, it's in Concacaf.
So, it how do we make sure that when we're not in those qualifiers that we're always playing top opponents? And that's what I've challenged the organization with. How do we make sure that we we don't play teams outside the top 15? That we are playing higher-level competition, because that's what's going to prepare us. We need to struggle. We need to get things wrong to get them right. And people are going to have to be patient with that because we have gone through a transition.
We haven't got a Christine Sinclair that's going to get you out of trouble anymore. We're going to have to score goals in different ways, and more people are going to have to contribute, which means we're going to have to play a certain way to create more chances.
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What are the goals for these two final windows of 2025? What do you want to get out of them?
An established style of play and performances. We want to step up; we want to show that we are way better than what we did against the U.S. I think we're clear about the way we want to play. It's about now making sure that we show that identity on the field, and that's about a little bit more bravery. We got into certain areas against the U.S., and we just gave the ball away; unopposed errors, technical errors. At the international you're just not going to get away with that.
So, it's about demanding higher standards from individuals and as a collective, and us being very, very clear about how we want to play within our identity. We've got Switzerland, Netherlands and two games against Japan, so top level opponents, and if we don't turn up to those games, we could be in the same situation as we were against the U.S.
What's your evaluation of the Northern Super League during its inaugural season?
It's more competitive than I would have anticipated. In terms of the score lines, I think anyone could beat anyone on their day. You can tell it's in year one. Obviously, it's got its gaps technically, and obviously there's physical gaps in terms of the age of the league and the players that are coming in. But I think the fact that it's been able to establish itself, the broadcast deals that it's got, the clubs that have been able to establish themselves really well in a year, I think they have done a fantastic job. It's going to continue to grow. It's going to continue to get better.
I think it's been a fantastic space for our young Canadian players to excel, like Holly Ward and people like that who have come in and done really well and now put themselves on the international scene. They've experienced consistency, they've built confidence, and they're playing every week, so I think that's a really good space for those types of players.
You previously talked about the player pool not being deep enough. Realistically, do you envision calling up more NSL players into the national team within the next year or so?
I think it will depend on how they're doing, what their form is. Someone like Kaylee Hunter is someone that we're looking at closely, and obviously she's across multiple age groups for Canada at the moment. So, it's about pulling players in at the right time. I always say, I want the players playing as many minutes as they can in the most competitive environments they can. And that's the only ask that I have of the players. And if they're in form and they're playing well, I will be looking at them from anywhere in the world.
Olivia Smith recently made a big transfer move from Liverpool to Arsenal. How do you think this change of scenery will benefit her?
I was in the UK, and I spent some time with Liv after the move. Obviously, this big money move, and with that comes pressure and expectation. So, I just wanted to check in with her. She's still very young. I think we need to remember that; there needs to be an air of caution with her. There's a lot of maturing she needs to do in certain areas. She's a fantastic player. Arsenal has paid a lot of money for her potential, but if she can continue to develop the way she is, then that will be money definitely well worth spent.
She's a great young person that wants to do well. She's a high achiever. She's got super talent who is going to be integral for Canada moving forward. I think it's a fantastic move for her because she's going to be around some of the best, top professionals. She's going to have to perform playing for Arsenal in the top games, pressure games. That's fantastic for me as a head coach; that's where you want your best players playing. So, great move for her. Really looking forward to seeing how she gets on. But I also think there's like, let's just be patient with her and have an air of caution, because she is young. She's got to make mistakes. She's not always going to get everything perfect. But I'm really pleased it's happened, because it's like a sink or swim moment, and she's definitely going to swim, and she's going to get better from it.
What are her greatest strengths? And what do you see as her biggest learning opportunity?
In terms of 1v1s and the ability to accelerate and beat a player, she's very, very good. I've not seen someone strike a ball the way she can strike a ball with the power and velocity. I think she's very good in transition moments, she can get the ball and pick out teammates
She's going to have a slightly different role for Arsenal, which I think is really good, because Arsenal dominates the ball. So, how she's going to work in tight areas and combination play and have to beat players and combine, how she's going to be a little bit more creative. For Liverpool, she played more in transition. They sat back, and she was the outlet. Now it's a different role for her. So, that relationship between fullback and wide player, what does that look like for her?
Her biggest area of growth, there's probably two parts. They probably go hand in hand. There's the physical part; getting fitter, and being fitter, more robust to be able to do her actions consistently at a higher level. And then the defensive side of her game. At Liverpool, she really improved that. She was excellent at tracking back 1v1. Her defending was good; her pressure and her cover was good. So, I think if she's physically better then her defending will naturally get better as well, because she'll be able to cope with the demands of the game. So, I think this is a key move for her.
(Top photo courtesy of Canada Soccer)
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