After missing out on representing Canada at the SheBelieves Cup, Chilliwack’s Jordyn Huitema will rejoin the Canadian national team at an April camp in Wales and England. Twenty six players have been invited to the camp and Huitema is likely to see game action in a pair of friendlies against those countries as her team preps for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Canada faces Wales April 9 and visits England April 13.
‘If you look at both teams, they have had success against top 10 teams over the past two years and obviously England were semi-finalists at the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019, which will be a great tier one test to assess players and where this group is at,” said Canada’s head coach, Bev Priestman. “I’m excited to get back in with the group and continue building towards where we want to be come the summer.”
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At 19 years old, Huitema is the second youngest player on the camp roster, with only Markham, Ontario’s Jade Ross younger at 18. Huitema will once again share the pitch with Canadian legend Christine Sinclair, who is the second oldest on the camp roster at 37 years old. Only goaltender Erin McLeod, at 38, is older.
Huitema was one of several Canadian regulars to miss last month’s SheBelieves Cup. The teenager could not secure her release from her pro team, Paris St-Germain, to play in the four team tournament. But it’s all hands on deck now and Priestman expects a good performance from her crew in the Wales/England friendlies.
“I expect two very tough games with different styles of play, which will only help up in our preparation for Tokyo 2020,” she said. “We will continue to build on the progress made in the 2021 SheBelieves Cup, with a greater emphasis on partnerships and chemistry as we move closer to the Olympics, given we will have key players available.”