Canada, Germany gear up for women’s international friendly in Hamilton

Christine-Sinclair

Canada's Christine Sinclair, centre. (Darryl Dyck/CP)

Two of the top women’s national teams will square off at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton on Sunday afternoon when Canada meets Germany in an international friendly.

The countries have a history together that spans over three decades, and one might say Canada’s loss to Germany in the opening match of the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup and subsequent last-place finish at the tournament forever changed the women’s soccer program in this country.

Germany is currently number three in the FIFA world rankings, one spot above Canada. Canada’s record versus the Germans isn’t good, with one win and 14 losses. Interestingly enough, the two sides have never played to a draw. The Canadians only win versus Germany came at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, where Melissa Tancredi’s brace secured a 2-1 victory for the Reds.

Sunday’s match is Kenneth Heiner-Møller’s first home game as Canadian head coach. It is also the team’s first match on home soil since a 1-1 result against the United States last fall in Vancouver.

Here’s a closer look at Canada and Germany throughout the years.

2 — This marks Canada’s second time playing in Hamilton. In 2015, the home team defeated England 1-0 at Tim Hortons Field with 23,197 spectators on hand in a World Cup tune-up match. Sophie Schmidt scored the lone goal, while Erin McLeod earned a clean sheet.

9 — For much of her career, Candace Chapman wore no. 9. The long-time centre-back was recently named to the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame, and she will be honoured ahead of Sunday’s match. In a recent interview with Sportsnet, Chapman said wrapping things up in Hamilton truly makes her career feel full circle. She is the first member of the 2012 Olympic team to enter the hall.

12 — No, not Christine Sinclair’s jersey number. The captain is 12 goals shy of tying Abby Wambach’s record of 184 international goals.

20 — The number of players on the German roster travelling to Hamilton. Head coach Horst Hrubesch has gone with a younger group and elected to give the likes of Alexandra Popp, Lena Goeßling, Babett Peter and Dzsenifer Marozsan a rest. Hrubesch is only the temporary bench boss for Germany. Martina Voss-Tecklenburg will take over the role once qualification for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup wraps up in September. Germany comes to Canada with six wins in its last 10 games.

25.4 — The average age of Canada’s 20-player roster. The squad features three players who are 34: Christine Sinclair, Erin McLeod and Diana Matheson. The youngest is Julia Grosso at 17. Jordyn Huitema is representing Canada at the U-17 CONCACAF Championship in Florida over the next few weeks, and as a result was not called up by Heiner-Møller.

166 — The number of appearances between the two goalkeepers on Camada’s roster, Erin McLeod and Stephanie Labbe. Labbe has faced Germany three times, most recently last year, but never on Canadian soil. McLeod has suited up on four occasions against the Germans, with one home date in June of 2014.

1994 — The first time Canada and Germany faced one another was July 27, 1994. The Canadians lost 2-1, but more notably, one of soccer’s most prolific players made her debut in that match. Birgit Prinz scored the first of her 128 career goals that day in Montreal. Prinz went on to capture three Olympic medals, and two World Cups. She was also named FIFA World Player of the year three times. She retired in 2011, and left the game with an impressive stat line of 282 goals in 282 professional matches.

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