TORONTO – It’s never “just another game” whenever Canada and the United States play each other in any sport.
It will always mean a little more for Canadians, and to say otherwise is just plain foolish.
But equally silly was the suggestion that Sunday’s international friendly between the Canadian and American women’s teams, their first meeting since the London Games, was a rematch of their dramatic Olympic semifinal showdown.
The U.S. won that game (in somewhat controversial fashion, according to some) and the gold medal last August, while Canada claimed the bronze. Everybody directly involved has moved on. We should forget all about this rematch business and get on with our lives.
So where does that leave us with regards to Canada’s 3-0 loss on Sunday?
Canadian coach John Herdman stressed in the buildup how he was using this game as part of his long-term preparations for 2015 when Canada stages the FIFA Women’s World Cup. He also pointed out that if Canada hopes to win that tournament, it has to learn how to beat top nations like the U.S.
Simply put, this game underscored what Herdman already knew: that he has his work cut out.
The gap in quality between the two sides was never more evident than on Sunday. While the Americans (ranked No. 1 in the world) were at ease while building out from the back, the Canadians (ranked No. 7) looked harried when they were on the ball.
Canada struggled to hold onto the ball throughout the game, conceding possession to the U.S. far too cheaply. The Americans rarely gave the ball away, and forced the Canadians to chase for long stretches. The U.S. was far more dangerous in attack, while Canada lacked ideas going forward.
Herdman has two years to mould this Canadian team into a world beater. The process began Sunday. The clock is ticking.
“I think (what this loss) might do… is give us a reality check, that this team has a lot of work to do,” Herdman bluntly stated in the post-match press conference.
How does Herdman plan to close the quality gap between Canada and top tier sides such as the U.S.? The English coach feels the key is building up the support players around the team’s core group of veterans.
“If (the veterans) can keep pushing through, and we can keep raising the players up around them, by 2015 I think we’re going to be in a good space,” Herdman opined.
It’s going to be hard, though, as Canada doesn’t have the same depth as the U.S.
“The barrel is a bit empty… But what am I going to do? Am I going start blaming everyone and pointing fingers? No. I’m going to do what I can to get every inch and ounce out of those players in these two years I have left,” Herdman promised.
A bright spot for Canada on Sunday was the play of Kadeisha Buchanan. Herdman singled out the young defender as the Reds’ best player for the way she shut down American forward Abby Wambach, the reigning FIFA women’s player of the year.
“She owned Abby Wambach today,” Herdman stated. “A 17-year old kid went out there and did an unbelievable job. I’m really proud of her.”
Herdman also praised veteran Diana Matheson for her tireless and industrious play in midfield.
“She never gives up. She’s the pride of Canada. She’s five-foot-nothing, playing against (women) twice the size of her, and she is just phenomenal from whistle to whistle,” Herdman offered.
Sold out crowd
Sunday’s affair before a sold out crowd of 22, 453 spectators at BMO Field featured a vibrant atmosphere, with throngs of young girls screaming at the top of their lungs and slamming their thunder sticks together as though they were at a Justin Bieber concert.
The crowd also displayed great humour and plenty of cheek. Whenever American ‘keeper Nicole Barnhart picked up the ball, the south end of the stadium loudly counted to six – it was a unique homage to Wambach who influenced the referee to make a delay-of-game call on Canada’s goalkeeper Erin McLeod by using a similar tactic during the Olympic semifinal.
In all honesty, the match failed as a spectacle, with neither Canadian captain Christine Sinclair nor Wambach, two of the best players in women’s soccer, having much of an influence.
The first half was a somewhat dull affair, featuring plenty of crunching tackles and physical play, but little in the way of creativity. In particular, Canadians Desiree Scott and Matheson impressed with their fearlessness in challenging for the ball in midfield to disrupt the American attack.
It worked, as the U.S.’s only scoring chance came in the 34th minute when McLeod tipped Heather O’Reilly’s header around the near-post. Sinclair latched onto a through ball and broke in on goal late in the half, only to see Barnhart rush off her line to cut down the angle.
The U.S. began to carve open the Canadian defence at the start of the second half. Some clever passes and lovely ball movement resulted in Alex Morgan being played into the box and it looked as though the U.S. would break the deadlock. But McLeod and a swarm of Canadian defenders closed Morgan down quickly, and the opportunity went begging.
And then the roof caved in on top of Canada’s head. A pair of goals by Morgan in the 70th and 72nd minutes dashed any hopes of a Canadian victory.
On the first goal, Wambach fed a pass to Morgan who slalomed her way through two Canadian defenders before sneaking a low shot under McLeod. Two minutes later, Morgan chased down a ball from Tobin Heath and again beat McLeod from inside the box.
Canadian-born Sydney Leroux made it 3-0 for the U.S deep into injury time. It was a goal scored on the break, something Canada struggled to deal with the entire match.
“They have the best players in transition, and we have to learn how to deal with that in the next two years,” Matheson opined.
Sinclair believes Canada also has to be more consistent and composed in possession, as well as improve its overall fitness.
“We need to be fit enough to be able to defend for 90 minutes. We end up doing a lot more running than they do because they have the ball so much. We need to cope with that,” Sinclair said.
Canada has an all-time record of three wins, five draws and 45 losses in international ‘A’ matches against U.S. dating back to 1986. Its last victory came at the 2001 Algarve Cup in Portugal.
Also, Canada is now winless in its last seven home matches (six losses and one draw) versus the Americans going back to 1990.
NOTES: On Sunday, the Canadian Soccer Association announced the host cities for the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Canada. Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton and Moncton will hold games from Aug. 5-24… The CSA also announced that the next home match for the women’s team will be on Oct. 30 vs. South Korea in Edmonton… Before that, Canada will play away to Germany on June 19…