June 30, 2025

A year after the drone scandal, Canada hopes Casey Stoney will usher in a new era

The IX: Soccer Monday with Annie Peterson, June 30, 2025

Jun 7, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Wave FC head coach Casey Stoney looks on after the match against the Orlando Pride at Snapdragon Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Editor’s note: This is going to be a bit of a deeper dive than usual for Soccer Monday, in advance of the USWNT’s match against Canada on Wednesday at Audi Field.

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It’s been nearly a year since New Zealand’s soccer team reported a drone flying over its training session at Auguste Dury stadium in Saint-Étienne, France, ahead of the Ferns’ opening match against Canada at the 2024 Olympics.

The local police were called, touching off a scandal that shook the Canadian federation, finished Bev Priestman’s career as coach of the team, and raised questions about John Herdman’s tenures with both the women’s and the men’s national teams.

Caught in the middle were the players.

The scandal came at a strange time for the team. They were still getting used to the absence of longtime captain Christine Sinclair, and there was pressure on the team as the defending Olympic gold medalists.

The Canadian Olympic Committee issued a statement on July 24, 2024 that a person associated with Canada’s national team had been arrested following complaint by the New Zealand team.

“We offer our heartfelt apologies to New Zealand Football, to all the players affected, and to the New Zealand Olympic Committee,” the COC said in its statement.

What followed was almost a daily barrage of both speculation and updates. Coach Bev Priestman stepped away from the team. The rumors spread to the Canadian men’s side, where national team head coach Jesse Marsch was questioned about his team’s possible spying.

Canada was docked six points in the competition by FIFA, and the decision was upheld. Yet, almost in spite of the scandal, the Canadian women finished second in their group to France on goals and advanced to the knockout round, eventually falling to Germany on penalties in the quarterfinals.

“I can’t quite find the tears because I shed them all this past week,” Canada defender Vanessa Gilles said afterward. “So to have gotten this far, I think is a testament to our group.”

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In the wake of the Olympics, Canada commissioned an independent investigation. It found that drone spying by the team predated the 2024 Olympics. Bev Priestman was fired.

To start the new year, with an eye toward the 2027 World Cup, Canada named former Manchester United and San Diego Wave coach Casey Stoney as the team’s new leader. Stoney had been abruptly fired by the Wave in 2024 in the midst of a seven-game winless streak.

While Stoney was shaken by the sudden dismissal, she said on a conference call with reporters that taking on Canada felt exciting. She’s preparing a team that’s clearly talented but still in transition as it prepares for 2027.

“It’s about now what we can do moving forward, how we can improve the team,” Stoney said. “The team’s done fantastic. I’m here to just support, make it better and make sure that the players are completely focused on what their job is, which is to win football matches.”

Stoney took over for the Pintar Cup, and has gone 6-1-1 since then, with the lone loss coming to Argentina. However, the team has not faced any real formidable competition.

For the current window, Stoney called up 18-year-old Annabelle Chukwu, who has had 39 goals in 42 appearances for Canada’s youth-level teams. Like U.S. coach Emma Hayes, Stoney is looking at some younger players in the run-up to the World Cup. Eight players on the current 23-player roster are under 24.

But the roster also contains plenty of veterans, including captain Jessie Fleming and veteran goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan.

In many ways, Stoney is in much the same position as Hayes. She’s tasked with building depth within the core of the current squad, while also developing the youth for the future.

Stoney spoke to reporters, including myself, when she announced the 23-player roster. These were some key quotes:

On Chukwu: “I think she’s incredibly technically gifted. She’s unplayable at times when you see her receiving with her back to goal, and she can turn, she can face people, she can beat them 1v1, and she can score goals. Talent like that is quite rare. So we want to make sure that we harness it. We look after her as a person, as a player, and we want her in this senior camp, we think it’s the right time to bring her in, it’s the right time to see her on the field, and we’re looking forward to working with her in this upcoming camp.”

On the United States: “We’re going to play against the No. 1 team in the world, obviously, against the coach that I know well, some of the players that I know well. I think that will give us a true test of where we’re at, what we need to do. And I’m really looking forward to it. I think it will be great, great barometer for us to see the work we need to do over the next climate 18 months.”

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On Jade Rose: “I think this movement and the way Jade has progressed is testament to her. I think she’s extremely intelligent. She’s a great human. She wants to learn. She’s very coachable. She came in when I was at the Wave for a six week period, and I would have wanted to sign her if I was still a club coach. So it’s a privilege to be able to be her national team coach now, and I think it’s a really good move for her [to Manchester United]. I think it will test her. I think Man City, in the way they play and the style they play is really going to help her in the possession game as well. And she’ll have to be defending against some of the best strikers in the world. So I think for her, it’s a great environment to be in. I think she’s excited about the move, and it’s one I’m really looking forward to seeing how she gets on.”

Given there’s no big tournament this year, what [to look] for in terms of progress: “I think it’s given us time to explore, discover, look at the players, the skillset, the team, the infrastructure, Everything really from top to bottom and bottom up. And I think where we’re on track. I think we’re scoring a few more goals, which I think is pleasing. I think now biggest test is to come when we visit Washington in July … that will show us where we’re at. We have widened the player pool, which was something that was intentional. I think we’ve got more young players in the squad now, which is great. We’re going to continue to do that. And then as we start to head towards qualification, the squad can start to narrow down, and we’ll start to look at what that base squad is. But for now, I think we got a great opportunity to look at different things across the playing style philosophy.”

Canada is coming off a 4-1 victory over Costa Rica in Toronto on Friday. Canada last beat the United States back in 2021 in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics, 1-0. Before that, they hadn’t won against the USWNT since 2001. And speaking of the USWNT, the currently world No. 1 downed Ireland 4-0 on Thursday in Colorado, and then did it again on Sunday in Cincinnati.

Links:

Ali Krieger wants to be an owner, from The Athletic.

The Equalizer’s summer break transfer tracker.

Boston Legacy name first head coach, Filipa Patao.

The Denver Post with the inside story of Michelle Cooper’s new contract.

Meghan Klingenberg looks back and forward as she embarks on next chapter.

From ESPN: For American prospects, it’s now or never.

Kyodo News with a story on Japan’s WE League.

It’s Euros time! The BBC picks its favorites.

Emma Hayes writes for the Guardian about how the Euros will show just how far women’s football has come.

Le Sommer joins Mexico’s Toluca.

The BBC on the kits, so all you jersey lovers.