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Canada captain still loses sleep over England's World Cup final triumph
Confirmed
In Short: Canada captain Sophie de Goede still struggles with the loss to England in the 2025 World Cup final.
Canada captain Sophie de Goede admits she still loses sleep over the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup final loss to England, where her team was defeated 33-13.
England, the reigning world champions, will face Canada in a rematch this Saturday at Sandy Park in Exeter.
Despite de Goede's emotional state, Canada head coach Kevin Rouet downplays the idea of revenge, emphasizing that the 2029 World Cup is the next major goal.
Canada's rugby program has a unique strategy, using England's domestic PWR league to develop players, with 25 Canadians currently playing in the league.
The Canadian team's professional status, while growing, still lags behind England's in terms of contract quality, highlighting the challenges in building a competitive program.
What's confirmed
- "I'm immensely proud to have been asked to help this team on their journey to win a World Cup in South Africa," Pietersen said.
- Pietersen will also be involved in England's winter white-ball tours of Australia and South Africa, before returning for next year's series against Pakistan and New Zealand on English soil.
- Former England captain Kevin Pietersen is set to return to the national setup as a Specialist Mentor for the white-ball teams, aiming to leverage his vast experience to help England prepare for the upcoming ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.
What's still developing
- Cole Palmer and Trent Alexander-Arnold recalled by Thomas Tuchel for Nations League but still no place for Phil Foden.
- Chelsea’s Cole Palmer has been recalled to the England squad after being controversially omitted from the World Cup.
- They were among a host of high-profile absentees from Tuchel’s World Cup squad, along with Phil Foden, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw.
- There is still no place for those three in the upcoming Nations League games.
- England play world champions Spain, Croatia and two games against the Czech Republic in the first international window of the season.
- England came third at the World Cup, their best finish since winning the tournament in 1966.
- De Goede's Canada side were beaten 33-13 by England in the 2025 World Cup final It is nearly a year since Canada lost the Women's Rugby World Cup final to England - but time has not been a healer for everyone.
- So, is this match revenge for the side ranked third in the world?