Victoria Pickett becomes third KC NWSL player called up to Canadian national team
KC NWSL doesn’t have the problem faced by many league competitors — losing players to the U.S. Women’s National Team during this year’s Olympics — but it may have another:
Losing them to Canada.
KC midfielder Victoria Pickett, originally from Newmarket, Ontario, was selected Tuesday as the third player from the KC NWSL roster called up to play for the Canadian national team ahead of two friendlies later this month.
She joins two other KC NWSL midfielders, Desiree Scott of Winnipeg and Jordyn Listro of Toronto, as call-ups to the Canada roster.
The three were called up during the final FIFA window ahead of this summer’s Tokyo Olympic Games and will play in Canada’s matches against the Czech Republic on Friday, June 11 at 10 a.m. Central Time and Brazil on Monday, June 14 at 2 p.m.
This is Pickett’s second call-up to Canada Soccer. The 24-year-old was invited to train with the senior national team ahead of the SheBelieves Cup in February but was not named to the final Canadian roster with Scott and Listro.
Scott, a Canada national team veteran, has made 161 appearances for the senior national team, including 145 starts. She’s played with the team in the past two Olympics and has registered four career assists.
Listro made her first two appearances with the senior national team in the SheBelieves Cup.
All three midfielders have played in each of KC’s four regular-season games, and while the team’s midfield is still trying get some much-needed offense going, each has provided consistent play. Losing them for some length of time will be a challenge for KC NWSL.
Pickett and Listro will get the opportunity to train and play with all-time international goal-scoring record-holder Christine Sinclair, who currently plays with the NWSL’s Portland Thorns.
But the call-ups do not guarantee the three KC players a place on Canada’s Olympic roster. Rather, they provide an opportunity for Canada Soccer to evaluate talent before finalizing the team’s Olympic roster.
This story was originally published June 1, 2021 at 5:17 PM with the headline "Victoria Pickett becomes third KC NWSL player called up to Canadian national team."