New Canada women’s national team head coach Kenneth Heiner-Møller has named the 23-player roster for the upcoming Algarve Cup in Portugal. The tournament will be the first games for Heiner-Møller, who took over after John Herdman was named Canada men’s national team head coach on January 8. Of note on the roster, midfielder Diana Matheson […]

New Canada women’s national team head coach Kenneth Heiner-Møller has named the 23-player roster for the upcoming Algarve Cup in Portugal. The tournament will be the first games for Heiner-Møller, who took over after John Herdman was named Canada men’s national team head coach on January 8. Of note on the roster, midfielder Diana Matheson (recently traded from Seattle Reign FC to Utah Royals FC) returns for the first time following the ACL tear she suffered last year. Her fellow Utah Royals FC midfielder Maegan Kelly was also named to the roster again after making her Canadian national team debut in two friendlies vs. the United States at the end of 2017. The No. 3 pick in the 2018 NWSL College Draft, Rebecca Quinn, has been called in ahead of her first professional season with the Washington Spirit. Goalkeeper Stephanie Labbé played for the Spirit in 2017, but on Wednesday night the team announced that they had elected not retain her rights, and she will now be available to all teams via the NWSL Distribution Process. The Algarve Cup runs from February 28 through March 7. Canada will play Sweden to open the tournament on February 28 before taking on Russia (March 2) and Korea Republic (March 5). “Once again, we are bringing a young, hungry team, blended with more experienced veteran players to the Algarve Cup as we continue to expand our tournament expertise heading into the CONCACAF Women’s Championship later this year,” Heiner-Møller said in a statement from Canada Soccer. “The competition format is especially important for the upcoming CONCACAF tournament which will serve as the qualification route for the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019, as it will allow us to focus on how we prepare the team for quick turnarounds between games, adapt to different opponents in short periods of time, and reinforce on-field relationships and chemistry between players.” * * *

Canada women’s national team roster by position

GOALKEEPERS: Stephanie Labbé, Erin McLeod (FC Rosengård), Kailen Sheridan (Sky Blue FC)

DEFENDERS: Lindsay Agnew (Houston Dash), Allysha Chapman (North Carolina Courage), Ashley Lawrence (Paris Saint-Germain), Shannon Woeller (FF USV Jena), Shelina Zadorsky (Orlando Pride), Kadeisha Buchanan (Olympique Lyonnais)

MIDFIELDER/DEFENDER: Rebecca Quinn (Washington Spirit)

MIDFIELDERS: Maegan Kelly (Utah Royals FC), Desiree Scott (Utah Royals FC), Sophie Schmidt (FFC Frankfurt), Jessie Fleming (UCLA), Diana Matheson (Utah Royals FC), Julia Grosso (Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite/Canada Soccer Regional EXCEL Super Centre)

FORWARDS: Christine Sinclair (Portland Thorns FC), Deanne Rose (University of Florida), Janine Beckie (Sky Blue FC), Adriana Leon (Sky Blue FC), Nichelle Prince (Houston Dash), Jordyn Huitema (Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite/ Canada Soccer Regional EXCEL Super Centre), Jenna Hellstrom (FC Rosengård)