Denmark’s women beat Canada 4-3 in an international friendly at BMO Field in Toronto on Monday 12 October, with Olivia Holdt scoring the first international brace of her career. The win closed a two-match series that began with a 1-1 draw in Montreal on Friday.
Canada went ahead in the 10th minute when Delaney Pridham finished after Kaylee Hunter headed the ball into a crowded penalty area. Denmark then struck three times in about nine minutes. Holdt scored from near the halfway line in the 24th minute after Julia Grosso failed to control a pass from Kadeisha Buchanan. Three minutes later Pernille Harder put Denmark ahead when Sofie Bredgaard’s shot came back off the crossbar, and Holdt added her second in the 32nd minute after a loose pass from Ashley Lawrence to Jade Rose.
Canada brought on Evelyne Viens and Shelina Zadorsky for Pridham and Buchanan at half-time, and Viens pulled one back in the 49th minute with a sliding shot that deflected off a defender into the top corner. Janni Thomsen restored Denmark’s two-goal lead in the 61st minute, slotting the ball between two defenders. Olivia Smith, who had hit the post early on, made it 4-3 in the 70th minute when her long-range shot rolled through the legs of Danish goalkeeper Freja Thisgaard. “They made us pay for all of our mistakes,” Viens said, and Canada coach Casey Stoney pointed to “some off-moments tonight that cost us dearly”.
Canada went into the match ninth in the world rankings, three places above Denmark, before an announced crowd of 12,112. Denmark lined up in a 3-4-3. Stoney, in charge since January 2025, is still waiting for a first win over a top-15 opponent, and Canada now have a 3-4-1 record in eight meetings with Denmark. The evening also included a farewell for Allysha Chapman, who came on in the 89th minute for her 100th and final cap, and pre-match tributes to Jessie Fleming, Buchanan and Lawrence for reaching 150 caps each.
In the first match in Montreal, Smith scored a late equaliser for Canada, who then won an unofficial shootout 4-2. Denmark have already secured their place at the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil after finishing first in their UEFA qualifying group. Canada start the CONCACAF W Championship against Panama on 28 November, a tournament that serves as qualifying for both the World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
