Ismaël Koné knows he still has things to work on in his game. The 21-year-old midfielder has been a breakout Canadian star in the last 18 months or so, and marked another milestone on Tuesday as he scored his first Watford goal. And it was a hell of a goal too, a 25-yard arrow into the bottom corner that sparked a 3-2 come-from-behind win over Norwich City. Related read: WATCH: Ismaël Koné has best game of Watford career, scores stunning goal en route to victory It was a landmark moment for the former CF Montréal rising star, one which he is keen to make more of a regular occurrence. Koné now ..read more

Ismaël Koné is a diamond in the making. The 21-year-old has had a meteoric last 18 months since breaking into the CF Montréal first team during the 2022 season, earning himself a move to English Football League Championship side Watford last winter and cementing himself as a key man in the future of Canada’s midfield. On Tuesday, Koné underlined his credentials again with a starring Man of the Match performance for his club in a 3-2 come-from-behind win against Norwich. The Ivorian-born midfielder started for the Hornets after coming off the bench in midweek, and he was his team’s main man. Pe ..read more

VAR has changed soccer, whether you feel it’s for better or for worse. And the game could be set for another major overhaul in the near future. The International Football Association Board (IFAB) has approved proposals to trial a sin bin system whereby dissent and minor offences would be punished with a 10-minute timeout. The trials are part of a series of measures designed to help protect referees from abuse. Other such measures include taking a hard line on only allowing on-field team captains to approach the referee during certain moments. IFAB announced on Tuesday that sin bins will be tri ..read more

Let’s start with the bad news of the week. Julia Grosso and Evelyne Viens sustained ankle injuries that will keep them out of Canada’s two games in British Columbia in the December window, a huge loss for club and country. However, absences have created space for new senior call-ups, a younger group of baby Reds were in action against Portugal to learn plenty of positives, and goalkeeper Rylee Foster stole the show in Auckland. Moment of the Week: Rylee Foster save vs. Perth Glory Foster has overcome more adversity than most, with the story of her awful car accident well-known by now. Her 2023 ..read more

Canada only faced a half-fit Sam Kerr at the World Cup back in the summer. They won’t face her at all this time around. An Australia women’s national team roster update on Monday confirmed that Kerr, her country’s biggest female soccer star by some distance, will not be a part of the group that faces CanWNT twice in BC over the next eight days. Chelsea stated that their star striker will not feature in the games as she will remain in West London with the WSL club for treatment for a foot injury. 30-year-old Kerr scored a stunning hat-trick for Chelsea in the UEFA Women’s Champions League win o ..read more

Four days before the Canadian women’s national team’s penultimate game of the calendar year, injury has necessitated a shake-up of Bev Priestman’s squad. Evelyne Viens is out, the Quebecois striker having suffered an unfortunate injury whilst playing for AS Roma last week in the UEFA Women’s Champions League. In her place comes Latifah Abdu, a 22-year-old forward with French side Dijon, for her first senior call-up. “With Evelyne out, it provides a good opportunity to assess Latifah in our environment,” said Priestman. “She has been part of our youth system in the past and has an interesting p ..read more

Vancouver will honour Christine Sinclair in many ways over the next eight days as the Canadian icon calls time on her CanWNT playing career, and one of those is by name. It was announced on Monday that BC Place will be renamed Christine Sinclair Place for one day only as Canada host Australia at the stadium in Sinclair’s final Canada game on December 5. The stadium will illuminate the temporary name in red and white alongside Sinclair’s number 12. In addition, other fun ways of celebrating Sinclair on the night at the stadium will include a selection of speciality menu items being offered whic ..read more

Jonathan David’s had a big last 10 days. To the relief of all Canadian onlookers, the striker ended a near-two-month goal drought by scoring for CanMNT in the first leg of this month’s CONCACAF Nations League quarter-final against Jamaica. That two-legged tie may ultimately have ended in heartbreak and embarrassment for Canada, but David scoring his first goal since mid-September was one of the silver linings. And on Sunday, the 23-year-old netted for Lille in a 2-0 win over struggling Lyon, his first club goal from open play since August 31 and his first Ligue 1 strike since August 27. The Ca ..read more

Have you ever wondered what a hybrid of Wayne Rooney & Cristiano Ronaldo would look like in Argentine Gen Z form? Alejandro Garnacho’s stunning overhead kick in the third minute at Goodison Park on Sunday reminded the entire world of Wayne Rooney’s 2011 goal against Manchester City and Cristiano Ronaldo’s acrobatic bicycle kick for Real Madrid against Juventus in 2018, which literally won Juve supporters over the idea of signing CR7. Have you ever wondered what a combination of Wayne Rooney & Cristiano Ronaldo would look like in Argentine Gen Z form? Alejandro Garnacho Take a bow y ..read more

With an emotional international break ahead of them, some of Canada’s biggest names were used sparingly in Women’s Super League play this weekend. Ashley Lawrence and Jessie Fleming came off the bench to contribute to Chelsea’s 5-2 thrashing of Leicester City on Sunday. England star Lauren James scored a brace to ensure they remain at the top of the WSL table ahead of the final international break of 2023. James opened the scoring in the second minute, putting Chelsea ahead. She can't stop scoring. The opener, courtesy of Lauren James! pic.twitter.com/ej13TUCRA1 — Chelsea FC Women (@Chelse ..read more