NSL star D.B. Pridham to sit out Canada’s games in Japan due to passport issue

D.B. Pridham’s first call-up to the Canadian senior side has turned into a training-only cameo in Japan.

Assistant coach Natalie Henderson said the Ottawa Rapid star striker, who holds both U.S. and Canadian citizenship, will be a spectator for friendlies against the eighth-ranked Japanese because she does not have a Canadian passport and so is not eligible to play.

“She was aware of this before she came into camp. We were aware of it. We tried our very best to get it over the line as quickly as possible, but unfortunately we haven’t been able to do that,” said Henderson, who is in charge of the team while head coach Casey Stoney is in England with her ailing mother.

“So she won’t be eligible for selection. However she has been in (camp) as a training player and has done very well so far.”

Pridham, 28, was born in Saratoga, Calif., to Canadian parents (father from Toronto and mother from Fort Erie, Ont.). The family moved to the U.S. for her father’s work in tech sales.

She does have a U.S. passport, which allowed her to travel.

Pridham was named both player and forward of the year in the Northern Super League’s inaugural season, also winning the Golden Boot Award with 20 goals. She led the six-team league in shots (83) and shots on target (42) and, in June, became the first NSL player to record a hat-trick in a 4-0 win over AFC Toronto.

Canada and Japan meet Saturday at Nagasaki Stadium City (Peace Stadium) and Dec. 2 at Transcosmos Stadium Nagasaki in nearby Isahaya. The games are the last of the year for the ninth-ranked Canadian women, who are 6-4-1 to date in 2025.

An emotional Stoney told reporters last Friday that her mother, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer earlier in the year, has taken a turn for the worse.

“I have been at my mum’s bedside for the last three weeks and I will continue to be there. Family is very important to me,” Stoney said.

Henderson also took charge of the team when Stoney missed a May 31 friendly against Haiti in Winnipeg after her mother’s cancer diagnosis. Canada under-17 coach Jen Herst has joined the technical staff in Japan.

Henderson said she has been in “close contact” with Stoney, who “is doing the best she can right now.”

“She has the full support of the team,” she added. “I think we all agree some things in life are bigger than football, family and health being one of them.”

Henderson joined Stoney’s staff in April. A native of Newcastle, England, she served most recently as head coach of England’s under-17 women’s team and coached at Newcastle United’s men’s academy. 

The Canadian women have lost three straight, beaten 1-0 by both No. 24 Switzerland and the 11th-ranked Netherlands last month after a disappointing 3-0 loss to the second-ranked U.S. in July.

Henderson said while the team’s mood is good, the squad is being realistic,

“We’re not going to shy away from the fact that we’re going through a bit of a storm right now and a bit of a rough patch right now. And things are uncomfortable,” Henderson said. “But we’re very, very clear as a team that we know that that’s where progress happens and that’s how we get better. And you have to ride these storms together. We have to struggle together to get to where we want to be.”

Canada is 4-8-4 all-time against Japan and has won just one of the last seven meetings (1-5-1).

Japan won 3-0 the last time they met, at the SheBelieves Cup in February 2023, and is unbeaten in the last three meetings (2-0-1) since Canada prevailed 2-0 at the Algarve Cup in March 2018.

Japan made it to the quarterfinals of the 2023 World Cup, losing 2-1 to Sweden. Canada failed to survive the group stage.

Other than Pridham, the 23-player Canadian roster is essentially the same as the 24-player squad called up for the October international window. Veteran defender Vanessa Gilles returns from injury, while defender Zara Chavoshi and teenage striker Kaylee Hunter are left out.

Canada is without star forward Olivia Smith, at her English club’s request. Arsenal did not want Smith, who suffered a hip injury playing for Canada during the October international window, to make the long trip to Japan.

Her absence led to the Pridham call-up.

Canada remains without the injured Kadeisha Buchanan, Gabby Carle  and  Lysianne Proulx. Annabelle Chukwu  (Notre Dame) and  Kayla Briggs (Michigan State University) are unavailable for selection by mutual agreement with their colleges.

Utah Royals forward Cloe Lacasse, while back from a knee injury suffered in October 2024, is not expected to be rejoin Canada until next year.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 27, 2025