NAGASAKI – Canada suffered its fourth straight loss on Saturday, falling 3-0 to Japan in a women's soccer friendly.
Momoko Tanikawa, Mina Tanaka and Aoba Fujino scored for eighth-ranked Japan, which controlled the game at the 20,000-capacity Mira Stadium.
Ninth-ranked Canada were outscored for much of the game and it was one way traffic for a long time.
The two teams will meet again on Tuesday at Nagasaki's Trancosmos Stadium in nearby Isahaya.
The games in Japan are the last of the year for the Canadians, who fell to 6-5-1 in 2025.
Canada will be looking to turn the tide, arriving on the back of 1-0 defeats to 24th-ranked Switzerland and 11th-ranked Netherlands last month following a disappointing 3-0 loss to second-ranked USA in July.
The Canadians haven't scored in 364 minutes since Emma Regan's 86th-minute goal in a 4-1 win over Costa Rica on June 27 in Toronto.
Japan had the lead in the first half and Tanikawa gave the hosts the lead in the 43rd minute, ending a run in which Canada defended desperately with centre-back Jade Rose blocking two shots.
Japan kept the ball in play and sent it back into the penalty area, where an unmarked Tanikawa scored accurately.
The game began with an errant clearance by Canadian goalkeeper Kaylen Sheridan.
The Canadian goalkeeper made a mistake again in the 51st minute: he intercepted the ball under pressure from Tanaka after a back pass in front of the goal. The Utah Royals forward took advantage, taking the ball away from the goalkeeper and firing the ball into the empty net from close range.
In the 58th minute, the Canadian defense was breached again as Tanikawa's pass found an unmarked Fujino in the penalty area. Her shot went through Sheridan.
Assistant coach Natalie Henderson led the Canadian sideline with head coach Casey Stoney back in England with his ailing mother. Henderson also took charge of the team when Stoney missed a friendly against Haiti on May 31 in Winnipeg due to her mother's cancer diagnosis.
The Japanese starting line-up includes eight players from English clubs.
Canada played dangerously early on, turning the ball over several times. Fujino went close in the eighth minute, firing a long-range shot over the crossbar.
A Canadian corner in the 30th minute caused some confusion in the Japanese penalty area but did not result in a shot on goal. In the 38th minute, Canadian defender Marie Levasseur's shot hit the net.
Japan beat Canada 9-2 (3-0 shots on target). Vancouver Rise forward Holly Ward, earning her sixth cap, was the highest scoring Canadian in the first 45 minutes. And the Japanese continued to advance in the second half.
There have been five changes to Canada's starting line-up to face the Swiss on Oct. 28, including Sheridan, Levasseur, midfielder Simi Awujo and forwards Nichelle Prince and Ward.
Canada's starting line-up, which included two Northern Super League players, Toronto's Regan and Vancouver's Ward, earned a total of 702 caps for Canada. Captain Jessie Fleming, one of the team's four centurions, made her 150th cap.
Jordyn Huitema, Julia Grosso, Evelyn Viens, Sydney Collins, Florianne Jourde and Vanessa Gilles took the field for Canada in the second half for the first time since the July loss to the United States.
Canada fell to 4-9-4 all-time against Japan. The Canadians haven't beaten Japan since March 2018, when they won 2-0 at the Algarve Cup, and have won just one of their last eight meetings (1-6-1).
Canada is without star forward Olivia Smith at the request of the English club. Arsenal did not want Smith, who suffered a hip injury while playing for Canada last month, to make the long trip to Japan.
Her absence led to D.B.'s first call. Pridham, NSL Player of the Year. But the Ottawa Rapid star, who was born in California to Canadian parents, is ineligible to compete in the Japan Games because he was unable to obtain a Canadian passport in time.
“The situation will be resolved after D.B. returns. to Canada at the end of this window,” Canada Soccer said in a social media post.
Having dual citizenship, Pridham traveled on her American passport.
Canada was missing the injured Kadeisha Buchanan, Gabby Karl and Lizianne Proulx. Utah Royals forward Chloe Lacasse, returning from a knee injury suffered in October 2024, will not return to Canada until next year.
Annabelle Chukwu (Notre Dame) and Kayla Briggs (Michigan State University) were not available for selection by mutual agreement with their colleges.
In the October international window, Japan lost to No. 13 Norway 2-0 and drew 12th Italy 1-1. While the Japanese women won the SheBelieves Cup in February with a 2-1 win over the United States, they came into the match against Canada with just one win in their previous eight matches (1-4-3).
Japan has not lost on home soil since losing 3-1 to Sweden in the quarter-finals of the July 2021 Olympics. The Swedes lost to Canada in the Olympic final.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 29, 2025.
