Although Canada’s women’s soccer team ended the year with an emphatic 5-1 win in a friendly against Korea Republic on Tuesday, no one may be more eager to flip the calendar to 2025 than the national team’s players.

The squad entered the year with lofty aspirations. For the first time in the program’s history, the Canadians were the defending champions in a major tournament, looking to repeat as gold medallists at the Paris Olympics.

But off-field distractions took centre stage once again, with the team embroiled in a drone-spying scandal. Head coach Bev Priestman, along with two other members of the staff, were suspended for a year by FIFA. Canada Soccer later announced that Priestman would not return to the helm.

The players banded together like never before to make the knockout round of the Olympics, overcoming a six-point deduction in the group stage. But their perseverance could only take them so far, as they’d go on to lose to Germany in penalties in the knockout round.

Despite exiting the Olympics without a fourth consecutive podium appearance, Canada finishes the year undefeated (9-0-7) for the first time in the program’s history, with three losses on penalties (in the Olympics, CONCACAF W Gold Cup and SheBelieves Cup) all officially recorded as draws.

Canada, ranked sixth in the world, rounded out the year with a pair of friendlies played on neutral ground in Spain. Following a lacklustre 0-0 draw against 13th-ranked Iceland on Friday, the Canadians rallied for a dominant 5-1 win against 19th-ranked Korea Republic.

Next year will mark a transitional time for the team. There is no major tournament on the schedule until the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil. Qualifiers for that tournament, as well as the 2028 Olympics, will take place in Nov. 2026.

That leaves a lengthy runway for Canada before competitive matches. Here is what the team should focus on next year, in the lead up to the 2027 World Cup.

The most obvious need for the team is also the most pressing. Priestman was officially let go by Canada Soccer last month following a third-party investigation into allegations of spying on opposition during her tenure.

Andy Spence, an assistant under Priestman, took on the role as interim head coach during the........

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