Canada calls 10 NWSL players for their June 10th friendly against Germany

Head coach Kenneth Heiner-Møller has called up 20 players for Canada's upcoming friendly match against Germany, ten of whom play in the National Women's Soccer League. The match will be held at Tim Horton's Field in Hamilton Ontario on June 10th. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 pm ET.

The two teams met just over a year ago on April 9, 2017, with Germany winning a close 2-1 contest in Erfurt, Germany. In that match, Canadian goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan scored an own goal in the 13th minute, but Deanne Rose equalized for Canada in the 38th minute. Ultimately, an 86th-minute goal by Linda Dallman was the difference, and the two teams have been equally matched in their last few meetings. Canada is just four points behind Germany in the FIFA Women's Rankings, so a convincing win could vault Canada to their best-ever ranking while dropping Germany to their lowest spot since the rankings started in 2003.

Canada's Janine Beckie chases down Germany's Leonie Maier in the 2017 friendly between Germany and Canada. | Photo: Matthias Kern - Bongarts/Getty Images

The ten NWSL players hail from six different squads. The Houston Dash lead the way with three call-ups; defender Allysha Chapman, defender Lindsay Agnew, and forward Nichelle Prince. The rest of the players are spread evenly. Forwards Adriana Leon and Janine Beckie play for Sky Blue FC, while defender Desiree Scott and forward Diana Matheson play for the newly-founded Utah Royals FC. The last three players, forward and captain Christine Sinclair, midfielder Rebecca Quinn, and defender Shelina Zadorsky play for the Portland Thorns FC, Washington Spirit, and Orlando Pride respectively.

Both teams have suffered coaching turnover lately. After a terrible performance at the 2017 Women's Euro, a home loss to Iceland in World Cup qualifying and a last-place finish at the 2018 SheBelieves Cup, Germany fired manager Steffi Jones. Horst Hrubesch was appointed the interim head coach for the team. He has extensive experience with coaching German national teams at all levels. For Canada, John Herdman left the women's side to coach the Canada Men's National Team and was replaced by Heiner-Møller. Both coaches are new as of 2018 and have limited experience with their respective teams.