Canada Soccer tabs U20 women's coach Cindy Tye interim bench boss for senior friendlies

Canadian under-20 coach Cindy Tye will serve as interim coach for Canada's upcoming women's friendlies against Iceland and South Korea.

Canada Soccer has said head coach Bev Priestman will not be returning in the wake of the recent independent report into the Olympic drone-spying scandal. Priestman, assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joey Lombardi are currently serving one-year suspensions from FIFA, with Lombardi having already resigned his Canada Soccer position.

Tye a former Canadian international who doubles as associate athletic director and women's head coach at Dalhousie University, will be joined by returning assistant coach Neil Wood. The rest of the staff consists of Katie Collar (interim assistant coach), Jen Herst (incumbent goalkeeper and set play coach) and Maryse Bard-Martel (interim performance analyst).

Canada Soccer said assistant coach Andy Spence, who ran the team during the Olympics and last month's 1-1 draw with third-ranked Spain, is "unavailable for this camp and is scheduled to return for the next FIFA window."

Spence has not talked to the media since the Olympics.

Former Canadian international Diana Matheson, now chief growth officer of the new Northern Super League, and Collar, head coach of Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite, were added to the staff for the game against Spain and served as the team's spokeswomen with the media.

The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face No. 13 Iceland on Nov. 29 and No. 19 South Korea on Dec. 3, with both games at the Pinatar Arena in Murcia, Spain.

The 23-player squad features some of Tye's under-20 charges, including North Carolina State University defender Janet Okeke and SMU forward Nyah Rose who receive their first senior call-ups.

Okeke, an