ANALYSIS – It was a back-and-forth game with defensive and goalkeeping errors and lots of goals scored by both teams. However, there were things to celebrate, like Delaney (DB) Pridham’s first-ever international goal for her country.
Denmark Wins In A High-Scoring Game at BMO Field, Despite DB Pridham’s Historic Goal
DB Pridham Scored Her First-Ever Goal
On Canadian Thanksgiving, DB Pridham scored her first-ever international goal.
As seen above, fellow NSL player Kaylee Hunter (Hunter plays for AFC Toronto while Pridham plays for Ottawa Rapid FC) got the ball to Pridham. It was an early goal to score, as Pridham shot the ball in the bottom corner to give Canada the early lead.
This is what Pridham said about scoring that goal, and who she looked at in the crowd, as said by the Northern Super League X Account:
It is important to note the journey Pridham had to go through. The Canadian-American international, who grew up in the U.S., went to college at Santa Clara University, and then started her club career in Iceland and Sweden, away from her family. She then played for the country she would eventually represent, Canada. Pridham has been with Ottawa Rapid FC since the league’s inception in 2025 and has been one of the league’s most prolific goalscorers.
Denmark Took Advantage of Canada’s Mistakes
The reason Denmark won this game was their ability to take advantage of Canada’s turnovers. This led to three of the four goals Denmark scored.
The most notable one was the first goal Canada gave up. There are people who will say Kadeisha Buchanan and Julia Grosso should have been sharper. However, the turnover in the centre of the field should not end up immediately in a goal. Goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan was too high off her line, and Olivia Holdt took advantage of this.
Turnovers by Buchanan in Canada’s side of the field and Ashley Lawrence led to the second and third goals scored by Denmark.
This is what CANWNT head coach Casey Stoney said about this:
“We can’t be so open on transition moments. So, you know, we’ve, gifted them a couple of goals, albeit they were clinical in a couple of moments as well.”
The transition moments led to all four goals, even though the fourth goal came from a transition, even though no turnovers were committed. To be fair to Casey, she took responsibility for the four goals given up and the lineup may look somewhat different when they face Panama on November 28.
READ MORE: CANWNT Head Coach Casey Stoney: Former Lionesses Captain
Denmark’s Olivia Holdt had a Fantastic Game
Olivia Holdt was probably the player of the match for both teams. Her ability to not just score goals but create goal-scoring chances for her teammates was the reason why her team won on Monday.
Her awareness of where the Canadian goalkeeper was led to her first goal, as well as her finding Pernille Harder, who got into the right position to score.
She was also able to put herself in good positions to score, seen in the third goal above where she was in the right place at the right time when Harder passed the ball to her within the box. Also, early in the game, Holdt set up play where Sanne
Troelsgaard almost scored a goal (and Kathrine Møller Kühl would have been credited with the assist). This underscores her ability to impact Denmark offensively by getting into positions to score goals and create scoring chances for her teammates.
Credit belongs to Denmark, as it is ranked 12th in the world for a reason. They have defeated Sweden twice this year. They have come up quite a lot recently, and one should expect them to make some noise in the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
READ MORE: Four Different CANWNT Goal Scorers in a 4-1 Win at BMO Field
Other Factors: Sofie Bredgaard and Pernille Harder Played Well
Harder and Holdt showed great chemistry. Holdt assisted in Harder’s goal, and Holder assisted in Holdt’s second goal. Harder is the captain of the team, and she will be a player to watch.
As for Sofia Bredgaard, her stealing the ball and setting up Holdt’s goal was one indication of her quality. However, the goal, which resulted in Janni Thomsen’s goal, was pure skill. Her ability to see Thomsen from across the field and pass the ball perfectly to her, highlighted her ability to create scoring opportunities for her teammates. Thomsen and her ability to get close to the box before scoring the goal should be credited, but it did not happen without Bredgaard’s pass.
READ MORE: Janine Sonis Scores a Hat-Trick in Dominant Win Over Costa Rica
There were some positives with Canada, even with the negative of giving up a lot of goals. Most notably was the play of Olivia Smith and Evelyne Viens. Smith drew fouls in favour of her team, and she worked quite well with Viens. Smith assisted in Viens’ goal, and Viens created a scoring chance for Smith, but she was unable to convert on it. Smith did end up scoring her own goal, assisted by Janine Sonis, but it happened because of a goalkeeping error by Denmark’s Freja Thisgaard.
This is what Stoney said about it when Nii of PSP Media (X Account: @PPodcasters) asked her about Smith’s performance in the second half:
“We changed the structure a little bit to get her a little bit more in the pocket and to try and give them a little problem. We obviously wanted to try and push her to ninety as well, um, because she hasn’t played ninety for this team very often.”
This was quite noticeable in the second half, and her partnership with Viens in the second half highlights a potential plus they can use against the games coming up in late November/December.
Games Coming Up For the CANWNT and What This Game Meant
The game today was not just about BMO Field; it was about celebrating three things. Two of them were Alysha Chapman’s 100th and final game as a CANWNT player and Melissa Tancredi going to the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame. It also celebrated Kadeisha Buchanan, Jessie Fleming, and Ashley Lawrence, who have now represented the country at least 150 times.
This is what Stoney said when replying to the question when this writer asked about it:
“150 caps, like, is an unbelievable achievement,” Casey said. “To get to the top and then to stay at the top for that amount of time that takes a hell of a lot of consistency.”
For someone as decorated as former captain Stoney was for the Lionesses (England), her words highlight how difficult it is to maintain one’s standard and consistency.
Denmark has no games left to play in 2026. They have also already qualified for the 2026 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
That is not the case with Canada. They will play one to three games from late November to December, as all games of the 2026 Concacaf W Championship will be played in Mansfield, Texas, at the Texas Health Mansfield Stadium.
READ MORE: The CANWNT June Roster: Players Looking to Make Their Mark
In the quarterfinals, Canada will face Panama at 1:00 pm ET (12:00 pm local time or 10:00 am ET) on November 28, 2026. There is a lot riding on this game. If they win, they will automatically qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup as one of the top four Concacaf nations. They could also qualify for the 2028 Summer Olympics if the U.S. win against El Salvador on November 27.
However, if Canada loses, they will be eliminated from making the Summer Olympics for the first time since 2004. They also put themselves at risk of not making the FIFA Women’s World Cup, as they would have to qualify for the competition via an inter-confederation play-off tournament. Canada missed out only once: the inaugural FIFA Women’s World Cup in China in 1991.
There is a lot of pressure for all these players as the next game will not be a FIFA friendly, but one with quite a lot riding on that one game against Panama. The game and the competition will all be shown live on Netflix.
Photo Credit: Canada Soccer Facebook Page on October 12, 2026 (Uploaded by the Canada Soccer Facebook Page on October 13, 2026).
