Here is a quick guide to Canada leading into the 2019 Women’s world cup.
The Canadians are a modest team, who over the past 5 years have climbed into World view, pushing themselves to sit amongst the women’s elite. Looking back on 2011, the Canadian women’s national team were coached by Carolina Morace, a prized Italian footballer. She moved the team to Rome in order to train, with high hopes set on the 2011 World Cup in Germany filled with a squad who placed 2nd at the U19 World Cup in recent years.
The team finished dead last.
Morace and Canada Soccer parted ways immediately following Canada’s final group stage game. It was only 12 months out from the Summer Olympics and Canada was staffed with a new head coach, John Herdman. Within a year, the Canadian team moved from last place in a major international tournament, to a bronze medal finish in the 2012 Olympics. Under Herdman’s guidance, the Canuck side consistently ranked amongst the top 5 in the world. The team concluded 2016 with an Olympic Bronze, beating France, Germany, and Brazil on their way to a medal. That being said, the World Cup has still been a hurdle for the Canadian side. In 2015 the team lost in the World Cup quarter final to the English Lionesses after struggling through tier 2 competition in the group stages, even under Herdman’s lead.
Over the past year the team hasn’t drawn results against many top tier teams. Drawing against Portugal, and losing to Spain, Germany and the USA, the team will look to 2018 to gain confidence before the big show in the summer of 2019.
The team will also use 2018 to get used to their new head coach, Kenneth Moller-Heiner. In the first few days of 2018, Herdman moved his Canadian allegiance to the men’s side in light of the potential Men’s World Cup 2026 combined bid with Canada, the USA, and Mexico. With less than a year before World Cup Qualifying, adjusting to new leadership could be difficult for the team, but maybe with the lack of results in 2017 its just what the Canuck side needs.
Enough about the coaches, let’s talk about the real interest: the players.
When you think of the Canadian Women’s national team one name comes to mind: Captain Canada, otherwise known as Christine Sinclair. The 34-year-old from British Columbia is one of the most prized professional women’s footballers. With 172 goals, she is on track to be the highest goal scorer in women’s soccer history, surpassing America’s own Abby Wambach (Christine Sinclair, n.d.). Sinclair has been awarded Canadian player of the year 13 times, and more significantly, has been nominated for FIFA player of the year 7 times (Christine Sinclair, n.d.). There is no doubt Sinclair is nearing the end of her career, not seeing international acknowledgments over the past 2 years, but the experience Sinclair brings to a young Canadian team is invaluable leading into 2019.
Contrasting Sinclair, centre back Kadeisha Buchanan has quickly risen amongst the greats in women’s football. The 22-year-old Champions League winner has had almost 80 caps with Canada, and in 2015 was nominated for the Ballon D’or. The centre back is known for her defensive physicality, as well as her on ball composure.
Lastly, newcomer Jessie Fleming will be looking for 2019 as her first chance to dominate the world stage. The 20-year-old has played in both the previous World Cup and Olympics, playing a stable role in the Canadian side. This past year Fleming was ranked top 100 footballers in the world. Fleming, a creative, technical midfielder will be looking to not only be a stable role, but a x-factor for the Canadians next year.
The Canadians (currently #4 in the world) have a mountain to climb in 2019, but if they can grow from their performance in the 2016 Olympics, consistently beating the best in the world, the Canadians will be definite trophy contenders.
References:
Christine Sinclair. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.canadasoccer.com/index.php?pid=2971&t=profile&
