Herdman leaving no stone unturned for Canada

Playing the reigning world champions in Japan is no small task for the Canadians. But rather than worry, the team is relishing the opportunity to test themselves against the world's best.

EDMONTON—While countries around the world are trying to qualify for next summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada, the host nation is leaving no stone unturned in its preparation.

Canada doesn’t have to deal with a gruelling qualifying procedure, but its latest task is no less challenging—the Reds host Japan, the defending World Cup champions, in a pair of friendlies in Edmonton on Saturday and Vancouver next Tuesday.


Programming alert: Watch Canada vs Japan from Edmonton on Oct. 25 live on all four main Sportsnet channels at 4:00 pm ET. On Oct. 28, watch Canada vs Japan from Vancouver live on Sportsnet ONE and Sportsnet World at 10:00 pm ET. || Sportsnet World NOW || TV schedule


This Japanese team, which has already qualified for the World Cup, is taking these matches seriously was well. More on that in a moment.

I’ve mentioned before how Canadian coach John Herdman takes an incredibly technical and almost scientific approach as he prepares for major projects. More evidence of that this week, even in the little things.

Instead of staying in their usual Edmonton downtown hotel, the Canadian team is farther removed from the city centre and Commonwealth Stadium because, well, because that’s the way it will be next summer when the team sets up shop here for their first two matches of the group stage.

And when he starts into a conversation about the “physical foundation phase, “neuro training” and dealing with “muscle imbalance,” then that’s when I try and change the subject. But it shows the level of preparation in the Canadian camp.

Herdman says one of his goals is to make sure his team is the fittest in the tournament. In fact there is so much effort being placed on some of the things mentioned earlier in this blog that Herdman said the nuts and bolts of technical and tactical training really won’t swing into high gear until later in the winter.

As for the visitors, both matches are being broadcast live in Japan. One broadcaster is doing the game here in Edmonton, and a different network will handle the one in Vancouver. They even have a travelling core group of media people attached to the team.

One interesting roster selection by Herdman for these matches is Allysha Chapman, a left sided player—something severely lacking on this team. Chapman played for Canada as a youth player up until around 2008 when she fell off the radar. Over the past three years she had been emailing the coach on a regular basis hoping to be given a chance to get back into the program.

Herdman kept telling her she had to be playing regularly at a decent level somewhere before that could happen. He was persistent in his messaging to the point where she finally did work her way in the first team in the Swedish league. Herdman says she’s now earned the opportunity, and we could see her in action tomorrow.

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