Stoney slams 'inexcusable' Canada loss to USWNT

WASHINGTON -- Canada head coach Casey Stoney said her team's performance in Wednesday's 3-0 loss to the United States at Audi Field was "inexcusable."

"Talk is cheap," Stoney said. "We can keep talking about winning the World Cup, we can talk about the things that we are going to do. We can keep talking about what we're going to do, or we can actually put things into action."

The USWNT scored all three goals from set plays -- a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in -- which forward Jordyn Huitema called "disappointing and unlike us."

"I think we looked two yards short on everything," Stoney said. "We gave the ball away too many times. I'll reflect here first -- that's my job. I believe in this team -- on how I set the team up. I think too many individual poor performances, collectively poor."

Stoney said the team failed to execute its gameplan, citing the number of crosses they sent into the box despite a plan that called for fewer crosses. Stoney also said she thought her team lacked commitment and desire, lost too many duels, and failed to press the USWNT.

Sam Coffey opened the scoring for the Americans in the 17th minute when she buried a loose ball from Rose Lavelle's free kick. The USWNT added a second before halftime when an unmarked Claire Hutton rose up to head in Lavelle's corner kick uncontested.

Yazmeen Ryan scored the Americans' third goal in the final minutes on a play that started as a throw-in for the Americans.

United States coach Emma Hayes said that her veteran players "made sure we played the way we wanted to play; we didn't play another game."

Stoney took exception with her players' fitness levels, and said on multiple occasions that they would need to find better solutions with their clubs.

"I think you can tell, every single one of their players is starting every single week for their clubs," Stoney said. "I have a problem: my players aren't. Some of them are out of season, which it showed, and not playing enough minutes for their clubs, so that needs to change.

"That's going to be a strong message moving forward: Get playing or you won't get picked, because we can't have that. We want to try to build toward 2027; we need to be a hell of a lot better than we were tonight."

Both Stoney and Hayes said in the preparation for the match that it would be a measuring stick for them to see how their respective teams had progressed with new, less experienced players.

Stoney, who took fault for the result as well, said the loss will force her to rethink her plans.

"Tonight, we were miles off," Stoney said. "It's almost [like] the games we had in prep for this haven't prepared us. This is the first top opponent we played, and it shows where we're at."