After coaching Canada to Olympic gold in 2021, head coach Beverly Priestman now aims to lead the Reds to their best results in the Women’s World Cup.

Canada has never finished higher than fourth at the Women’s World Cup, but it sits sixth in the FIFA rankings heading into the tournament in Australia and New Zealand and will consider itself one of the teams that can cause problems for the American favorites.

While the women rose to prominence under former head coach John Herdman before moving to the men’s side, Priestman guided Canada to their premier trophy.

With the World Cup now in their sights, Priestman and his team look to secure their position among the world’s footballing elite.

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Who is Beverly Priestman?

Born in Consett, England, a small town outside Newcastle, Priestman, 36, was hired to replace Herdman in 2020.

Funnily enough, a 12-year-old Priestman played futsal in Consett on a team coached by Herdmanwho was a lecturer and part-time futsal coach at the time.

She began her coaching career in New Zealand under Herdman, before joining Canada’s youth team in 2013 at the age of 26, first managing the U17 team before being promoted at the U20s in 2017. After a year in the role, Priestman returned to his home country where he served as an assistant in the England senior team under Phil Neville, until his appointment with Canada in 2020 .

Priestman is married to former New Zealand international Emma Humphries, who now coaches the Canadian U17 team. The two met in New Zealand when Humphries was head of national development for her home country and reunited in Canada when Humphries was hired by the Vancouver Whitecaps to manage their youth team in 2014.

Since then, Humphries has followed Priestman, coaching Liverpool’s women’s youth team while Priestman was coaching in England, then joining the Whitecaps as director of football development when Priestman was hired as Canada’s head coach.

Beverly Priestman’s Coaching Review

Bev Priestman has led Canada to the highest level of women’s football, but her overall record could still be improved.

She led the Reds to Olympic gold in 2021, but four of their six tournament matches ended in draws.

Canada struggled in both SheBelieves Cup appearances under Priestman, although they dominated the CONCACAF W Championship before losing to the United States.

The Women’s World Cup will be their biggest stage yet and it doesn’t matter how individual results pan out as long as they advance as far as possible, probably aiming for at least the semi-finals.