Canada suffered a costly 1-0 loss to Switzerland in women’s international soccer play Friday, losing star striker Olivia Smith to injury in the first half.
Alayah Pilgrim scored for the 24th-ranked Swiss at the Swissporarena in a game that was anything but friendly thanks to the physical Swiss. Ninth-ranked Canada had its chances, including two in stoppage time, but failed to take advantage, misfiring more often than not.
It was a first-ever win for the Swiss over Canada.
Smith was hurt in a heavy fall in the 32nd minute, seemingly deliberately bodied to the ground by Swiss defender Viola Calligaris. Smith spent some five minutes on the turf receiving medical attention before being taken off the field in a golf cart.
The 21-year-old grimaced as she was lifted to the feet and was helped to the cart, not putting weight on her right leg. She looked distraught as she was driven off the field.
The play was not judged a foul from French referee Maika Vanderstichel, leaving irate Canada coach Casey Stoney protesting on the sideline. Smith had received physical treatment from the Swiss from the opening kickoff.
One of Canada’s rising stars on the women’s national soccer team Olivia Smith was injured Friday in a friendly against Switzerland and required a golf cart to be removed from the pitch.
It was the first Canada start for Smith since signing with England’s Arsenal from Liverpool in July for a then-world-record transfer fee of one million pounds ($1.86 million).
Smith, who was replaced by Marie-Yasmine Alidou, was not the only Canadian to feel the effects of Swiss roughhousing on the night.
Canada was coming off a disappointing 3-0 loss to the second-ranked Americans last time out on July 2, a setback Stoney called “a reality check for everybody.”
The Canadian women face the 11th-ranked Netherlands on Tuesday in Nijmegen. They close out 2025 with a pair of games against No. 8 Japan during the November FIFA window.
Stoney fielded a strong starting 11 Friday that went into the match with a combined 813 caps.
An early goal by Switzerland’s Alayah Pilgrim proved to be all the Swiss needed to defeat Canada 1-0 in Friday’s friendly match in Lucerne.
Canada under pressure
The Swiss put Canada under pressure early and reaped the benefits. The Canadian defence was torn open in the 12th minute with Pilgrim, who plays her club football for AS Roma, knocking the ball home from close range after several defenders failed to clear the ball.
Janine Sonis will rue missing four good chances, failing to add to her 36 goals for Canada.
The first came in the second minute, a chip shot that went just over the bar and Swiss goalkeeper Livia Peng, who plays her club football for England’s Chelsea.
An unmarked Sonis had a glorious chance in the 19th minute, but her shot bounced off Peng’s torso to safety. There was a virtual repeat of the play in the 45th minute with Peng blocking Sonis’s shot again. Sonis skied a shot early in the second half and hit the goalpost on a deflected shot in the 86th minute.
Adriana Leon shot just wide in first-half stoppage time.
Jordyn Huitema, Ashley Lawrence, debutante Florianne Jourde and Nichelle Prince came in for Canada in the second half.
Canada was without injured goalkeeper Lysianne Proulx (Juventus), defenders Kadeisha Buchanan (Chelsea) and Vanessa Gilles (Bayern Munich) and midfielder Simi Awujo (Manchester United).
Carrying a knock sustained prior to arriving in camp, teenage striker Kaylee Hunter was unavailable for Tuesday’s match.
The Canadians came into the game with a 6-2-1 record under Stoney, a former England captain. The Swiss are coached by 65-year-old Swede Pia Sundhage, whose distinguished coaching resume includes stints at the helm of the United States, Sweden and Brazil.
Canada was unbeaten in five previous meetings (4-0-1) with Switzerland and had won the last three matches, most recently in a 1-0 victory in round-of-16 play in Vancouver at the 2015 Women’s World Cup.
Switzerland hosted this summer’s UEFA Women’s Championship, losing 2-0 to eventual runner-up Spain in the quarterfinals.
The Swiss women were relegated from League A of the UEFA Women’s Nations League in June after finishing last (0-4-2) in a group featuring No. 6 France, No. 13 Norway and No. 17 Iceland. No. 23 Portugal, No. 25 Scotland and No. 32 Wales also dropped down to League B.
The relegation extends Switzerland’s 2027 World Cup qualifying road. After a November draw, the Swiss will play in a four-team group that will compete over six matchdays between next February and June next year for a place in the playoffs. They would then need to negotiate two further rounds to book their ticket to the World Cup in Brazil.,
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