Toronto Star
· collected 2026-10-08 · by Gemma Karstens-Smith The Canadian Press
Casey Stoney, head coach of Canada's women’s soccer team, emphasizes that upcoming matches against Denmark in Montreal and Toronto are not friendly games but serious tests as the team prepares for the World Cup qualifiers and the CONCACAF W Championship. Ranked ninth globally, Canada aims to refine its playing style while remaining competitive, with a focus on building an offensive strategy that includes taking more risks. The coach stresses the importance of facing strong opponents like Denmark, currently ranked 12th, in order to develop a winning mindset ahead of critical tournaments.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-08,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Head coach Casey Stoney emphasizes that Canada's upcoming games against Denmark in Montreal on Friday and Toronto on Monday are not friendly matches but serious competitions aimed at preparing for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil. Ranked ninth globally, Canada faces twelfth-ranked Denmark as they aim to improve their FIFA rankings and secure a top-eight position by the end of next year to ensure a favorable draw at the tournament. The team is also focusing on building its identity and maintaining its reputation as tough opponents while preparing for crucial matches like the CONCACAF W Championship quarterfinal against Panama on November 28, which will impact qualification for both the World Cup and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Written for “Canadian Women Soccer Team Identity” on 2026-10-09,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 67163 · logged 2026-10-08
The head coach of Canada’s women’s soccer team says her group isn’t playing games for fun in the lead-up to next summer’s World Cup.
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group → say → Cup
Casey Stoney says the upcoming games against Denmark in Montreal and Toronto will be about testing the team’s mettle.
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games → say → mettle
“It’s not an exhibition,” she said on Thursday.
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she → ’ → Thursday
“This is a game we are here to perform and win …
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we → perform → ?
This is about performance, this is about making sure we build on what we’ve built over the last 16 to 18 months against an opponent, how we can take our performances to the next level.”
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we → make → level
The ninth-ranked Canadians will host No. 12 Denmark in Montreal on Friday before the two teams face off in Toronto on Monday.
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teams → rank → Monday
The games kick off an important stretch for a Canada side that’s set to face Panama in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF W Championship on Nov. 28.
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that → kick → Nov.
The country is looking to qualify for both the 2027 World Cup in Brazil and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics via the tournament.
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country → look → tournament
Preparing for those meaningful matchups requires Stoney’s side to build on its past performances and refine its identity.
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Preparing → prepare → identity
“This team’s always been hard to beat.
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team → beat → ?
We don’t want to lose that.
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We → want → that
That’s really, really important,” the coach said.
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coach → ’ → ?
“But we need to take different risks now to try and create more opportunities to score goals while remaining hard to beat.
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we → need → goals
While Canada is still looking to secure a berth in the 2027 World Cup, the team is also vying to climb into the top eight teams in FIFA’s rankings to gain a more favourable draw at the tournament.
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team → look → tournament
Playing top European teams — including Denmark — is part of that work, Stoney said.
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Stoney → play → work
“It’s very much about performance but it’s also about trying to create that winning mindset,” she said.
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she → ’ → mindset
Canada holds a 3-3-0 record against Denmark, but the two sides haven’t played since 2017 when the Canadians took a 1-0 victory at the Algarve Cup in Portugal.
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Canadians → hold → Portugal
The visitors will provide tough tests in Toronto and Montreal, said defender Gabrielle Carle.
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Carle → provide → Toronto
“Denmark is a very good side, already qualified (for the World Cup), came first in a group that had Italy and Sweden, so really good team,” she said.
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she → come → Italy
“I think for us, it’s good preparation.”
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it → think → us
Canada will need to be careful about how it uses the ball and controls transition moments, being mindful of attacking threats such as Bayern Munich standout Pernille Harder, Stoney said.
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Stoney → need → Harder
“They’re very hardworking, they’re very organized, they’re hard to break down,” she said.
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she → ’re → ?
“And they’ve got threats on the counter.
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they → get → counter
Let’s not hide away from the fact they have some world-class players on their team.”
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they → let → team
The Canadians want to be more creative offensively, she added, and that will mean taking more risks.
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that → want → risks
“This is about how do we build a team that knows they can beat anyone on their day?
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they → build → day
No fear,” Stoney said.
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Stoney → say → ?
“We want to take on the best teams.
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We → want → teams
This is what it’s about.”
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it → ’ → what
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2026.
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report → publish → Press
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