VANCOUVER – For the casual fan of the Canadian women’s team, the standard expected of John Herdman’s side is the sort of effort that earned the squad to a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
And with one of the best players in the world in Christine Sinclair, and the fact Canada is hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup next summer, there is a general expectation from people in this country that this team can be a contender in that tournament.
While there’s no doubt that Canada, ranked eighth in the world by FIFA, is among the handful of solid international women’s teams, this two-game series against third ranked Japan is a reminder that while on its day this team can compete with the best there is still somewhat of a gap.
It’s not that Canada was necessarily thrashed, as shown by 3-0 defeat in Edmonton on Saturday and now this narrow 3-2 loss in Vancouver Tuesday night.
Soccer Central podcast: SPORTSNET.CA’s Soccer Central podcast, hosted by John Molinaro and James Sharman, takes an in-depth look at the beautiful game and offers timely and thoughtful analysis on the sport’s biggest issues. To listen and subscribe to the podcast, CLICK HERE.
But the reality from watching these two games is that Canada’s technical skill is lacking, and beyond Sinclair there is no genuine threat that can be relied upon to consistently score goals.
While there are few obviously weak links in the starting lineup for Herdman’s team, it’s difficult to highlight any players on the verge of jumping into stardom at next year’s World Cup. If Canada is to go far next year, it will do so relying on its defending. But even then these two games have found this team prone to lapses in that department.
On this night, Asano Nagasato was given far too much time at the top of the box to score her 33rd minute opener. On the play, she took it down under no pressure, before firing a world-class left-footed half-volley into the top right corner. It was a strike goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe had no chance on, but Nagasato should never have been given that sort of space at the top of the box.
Equally poor from Canada’s perspective was Yugi Ogimi’s goal to give Japan a 2-1 lead. It was a well taken volley at full stretch, but Kadeisha Buchanan’s inability to make a clean clearance on what should have been a routine play allowed the Japanese player to have that chance—it was an opportunity she never should have had.
As for Aya Sameshima’s extra-time winner, the less said the better. Given the score and time of the match, one would have expected Emily Zurrer to play it safe and quickly play it out to the side after receiving a bit of a hospital pass from Allysha Chapman.
It was a similar story to the weekend’s game, where Ogimi was left alone for the opener in the ninth minute, and the pair of Nahomi Kawasumi and Yuri Kawamura similarly evaded marking for their goals which came on the end of crosses.
On the offensive side, Sophie Schmidt’s goals on Tuesday will be rightly viewed as a positive, and there’s no doubt that she is ready to play a huge part for this side in next year’s tournament.
But ultimately we’re looking at two games, against an admittedly top side, and only two goals to show for it, one of which most reasonable observers would attribute to goalkeeper error.
It’s worth mentioning that Herdman took these games as a chance to blend youth and experience, and that he didn’t deploy his absolute best 11 in either match. But there is a gap between the team’s ageing core and the young players that will form the nucleus of the team in the years to come.
The timing for Canada to host the 2015 Women’s World Cup quite frankly isn’t ideal. This isn’t a team with a group of elite players, but rather one with an older core and a few players with potential who aren’t fully rounded out yet.
A deep run in next year’s tournament isn’t impossible, but after these two games Canada—and the team’s fans—must surely realize the road ahead is likely bumpier than many had believed it would be.
While every team relies on its best player, the way this side relies on Sinclair isn’t sustainable or practical at a tournament such as the World Cup.
Herdman will likely want to bring in as many new faces into the side in the lead-up to the competition in the hopes of finding a game-changing youngster. But for now it appears this team will go as far as Sinclair can carry it.
Martin MacMahon is a Vancouver-based writer. Follow him on Twitter