Riviere on the rise for Canada

When asked to describe Jayde Riviere and her play during the CONCACAF W Championship, Canadian head coach Bev Priestman zeroed in on one phrase.

Game changer.

“It's scary where Jayde’s potential is,” Priestman said. “She's so young, hasn't gone pro yet, and this is what she's putting out.”

The 21-year-old right back has featured in all four of Canada’s games at the CONCACAF W Championship in Monterrey, Mexico, including Thursday’s semifinal win against Jamaica. She has earned three starts and has been a steadying presence on the backline, while also providing a spark in the attack with her ability to fly up the flanks and send crosses.

“When she's come into a game, or whether she started the game, she's been critical in our attacks,” Priestman told TSN. “That right-hand side has looked very dynamic because of that.”

Priestman points to several of Riviere’s attributes, such as her acceleration and mental resilience, as reasons for her recent growth.

“I think she's got fitter,” she said. “She's defending more, attacking. It's exciting where she can be.”

Riviere has quietly become a regular for Priestman, who also coached the native of Pickering, Ont. at the Canadian youth levels. This year, Riviere has started in eight of Canada’s 10 games, not featuring in just one match (a friendly against Nigeria in Victoria). Overall, she has started in 13 of her 20 appearances since Priestman became head coach at the end of 2020.

What’s even more impressive: Riviere transitioned to fullback when she was 16, after playing as a winger for years.

“I'm still growing. I'm still learning,” Riviere told TSN. “I'm pretty proud of my performances so far. I think I'm learning to get the fullback role, attacking, and defending, under my belt. I can only continue to grow as I play and get more minutes.”

Riviere credits the veterans on the team for helping her develop, especially fellow defender, Allysha Chapman. The left back was a regular starter on the Canadian backline for many years, but now Priestman often opts for Riviere on the right and Ashley Lawrence on the left.

“She definitely 100 per cent brought me under her wing,” Riviere said. “She was really supportive in terms of who starts, who comes on and finishes. And for us, regardless of if you start or come off the bench, you play the same role, you have the same goal and you want to get the job done. So, there's no blame in terms of that.”

Riviere said the transition from winger to fullback has had its ups and downs. While part of the role fits her style of play, in terms of Canada’s fullbacks jumping up frequently to join the attack, she admits to some difficulties in learning the defensive side.

“I'd say the hardest part is definitely playing against seasoned players who are more experienced than yourself and coming into a more defensive role,” she said. “You can never really turn off in my position, considering that it's both involved in the attacking and defence.

“There's a lot of things I still need to work on. I'm nowhere near close to where I want to be in terms of the best fullback that I can potentially be.”

She may be far from her prime, but her Canadian teammates have already taken notice.

“It's amazing how much she's grown,” forward Nichelle Prince told TSN. “She's such a weapon for us. Her speed, her athleticism, but also just how great she is on the ball.”

“What I love to see about Jayde is just her 1-v-1 ability and confidence,” midfielder Desiree Scott added. “She’s going at players; she's using her pace. Her ability to just take people on is incredible to see.”

Riviere points to one moment as a turning point, not only in her career with the national team, but in her life.

In April 2019, Canada was taking on Nigeria in a friendly. Riviere was given her first-ever start with the senior team by then-head coach Kenneth Heiner-Møller.

But Riviere, then 18, was struggling, and was also hampered by a calf injury she suffered during the match. At halftime, with Canada trailing 1-0, Riviere was in distress.

Goalkeeper Stephanie Labbé, now retired, approached Riviere and said, “The team needs you.”

“And I think that resonated with me,” she said. “I'm like, ‘The team needs me. I'm a young player, but I have a role to play right now.’”

Riviere was able to regroup and help engineer a comeback for Canada, setting up two goals (one on a direct assist).

“I have nobody to thank but Steph for that,” she said. “Because if I was back in that position, and I was an [18]-year-old, just distraught with tears in my eyes, I probably would’ve taken the easy way out of it…. That's a moment I will definitely carry on into the rest of my career.”

Riviere has gone on to play on some of the sport’s biggest stages. A month after that game against Nigeria, she was named to Canada’s roster for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, playing in three games. Last year, she was part of the gold-medal winning team at the Tokyo Olympics.

In total, she has 35 caps and 22 starts for the national team. But despite her early success, Riviere says she still needs to shift her mindset.

“I think with the experience and amount of years that I've gotten under my belt, I need to transition from being that new, afraid, nervous, young individual to someone who's like, ‘Okay, I've played a couple of fantastic teams, a lot of top-tier teams, including the U.S. So, there is no team that I don't think that I can't play against,’” she said.

Riviere’s rise up the Canadian depth chart is even more remarkable considering she is still in college, preparing to enter her final year at the University of Michigan. Last season, she started in 19 of the Wolverines’ 22 matches for 1,620 minutes, missing some time due to national team duties. She was also named to the Academic All-Big Ten.

“I think what I'm most proud of is because I'm still in college, I don't have that professional background coming into camp,” Riviere said. “I'd be really excited to see what I could potentially do if I was in a professional environment, coming into another professional environment. I think it would only help me and help the team better when I'm more seasoned and experienced in another environment.”

Riviere said she’s keeping her options open in terms of where she would like to play professionally. She called the National Women’s Soccer League “forever growing,” while also pointing to the strong level of play in England and France.

She’s already gaining notice from the professional world. During this year’s Arnold Clark Cup in England, Emma Hayes, Chelsea’s head coach, sang Riviere’s praises while on the BBC broadcast.

“I think the good news is she's got options everywhere,” Priestman said. “I think it's now picking the right option for game time, and that’s the conversations we've had.”

At the CONCACAF W Championship, Riviere and her Canadian teammates have their sights set on Olympic qualification. The team will face the United States in the final on Monday, with the winner of the tournament earning an automatic berth in the 2024 Paris Games. The second- and third-place teams will advance to a playoff next year for the final Olympic spot from CONCACAF.

While Riviere is focused on that immediate goal, she is also looking forward to next year’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, after Canada qualified for the tournament last week.

“I'm really excited to see what we can do there, especially coming off of our past achievements at the Olympics,” she said. “It's definitely one of my favourite tournaments that I've ever played in. For someone who is 18, to play in a World Cup, looking back on it now – I can definitely say that’s one for the books.”