Christine Sinclair will captain a youthful Canadian women’s team in a pair of high-profile friendies next month.
Canadian coach John Herdman on Wednesday revealed his squad, which included Sinclair, Canada’s all-time leading scorer with 145 goals in 193 appearances. Canada takes on France on April 4 in Nice before travelling to Rotherham to face England three days later.
Aside from Sinclair and other veterans, Herdman’s 19-player roster includes a number of youngsters, such as teenagers Kadeisha Buchanan and Ashley Lawrence, with little senior team experience.
The Canadian side has relied on a group of experienced veterans the past few years, including at the 2012 London Olympics where the Reds won bronze. But Herdman is trying to change that by giving youngsters a chance, all with an eye towards increasing the national team player pool leading up to and beyond the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup scheduled to take place in Canada.
“The key with the younger players is that we absolutely need to have a group underpinning this aging team,” Herdman told reporters during a Wednesday conference call.
“We can continue with this group and two years out from a World Cup, I imagine most of them will be fit and healthy and we would be ok. But there’s a reality check that post 2015-2016 there isn’t much sitting underneath that. Unless I’m prepared to give these kids a good run in the side, then there won’t be much of a legacy moving forward.”
Herdman believes that by “going younger,” Canada will be able to keep pace with more technically proficient teams that are considered the elite nations in the women’s soccer.
“The game has changed, Herdman said. “It’s moved technically. We have to evolve with what the Japanese and French have produced. There’s only three of four players in (Canada’s) younger aged group that I’ve seen with those competencies at this stage that can handle the pace of the senior women’s game.”
The European trip will see the Canadians play the French for the first time since beating them for the bronze medal at last summer’s Olympics. Canada recently lost to England in the final of Cyprus Cup.
In Cyprus, Herdman used the exhibition tournament to work on improving Canada’s buildup play. He’s focused on continuing that work, trying to get his team to enjoy more meaningful possession and not just stroking around the ball in its half.
“This is what this year’s about — it’s about progressing the ball with greater control,” Herdman explained. “It’s a complete shift (for Canada). It’s about controlling the ball in areas of the pitch where they’re very uncomfortable. That means getting into (the opponent’s) half and staying in their half for longer periods of time.”
As a result, Herdman is more concerned with how his team performs against France and England than the final score. If that means suffering losses, that’s the price that has to be paid for tactical advancements.
“These next two games are going to be a real eye opener. … If we’re going to move away from the traditional counter attacking style of football that’s served Canada so well and move into a different philosophy then we have to be prepared to take a couple of steps back,” Herdman said.
Canada’s roster for the friendlies features 17 players from the Cyprus Cup squad, while 14 were on the Olympic team last summer.
CANADA’S ROSTER
Goalkeepers: Erin McLeod, Karina LeBlanc
Defenders: Emily Zurrer, Carmelina Moscato, Robyn Gayle, Rhian Wilkinson, Ashley Lawrence, Lauren Sesselmann, Kadeisha Buchanan, Chelsea Stewart
Midfielders: Kaylyn Kyle, Diana Matheson, Desiree Scott, Sophie Schmidt, Jonelle Filigno
Forwards: Tiffany Cameron, Christine Sinclair, Adriana Leon, Jodi-Ann Robinson