John Herdman sprung no major surprises Tuesday in unveiling his Canadian roster for the 2012 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying tournament.
Herdman’s 20-player squad is highlighted by forward Christine Sinclair, the team’s celebrated captain and all-time leader in appearances (168) and goals (120).
Sinclair, a 28-year-old forward from Burnaby, B.C., was officially feted as Canada’s female soccer player of the year last week, marking the seventh consecutive time she has won the honour.
Sinclair and the bulk of the players named to the squad also represented Canada at the FIFA Women’s World Cup this past summer in Germany, including veterans Karina LeBlanc, Candace Chapman and Diana Matheson.
Veterans Emily Zurrer (coach’s decision) and Marie-Eve Nault (injury) were both on the World Cup roster but did not make the cut for this tournament. Herdman has not ruled out recalling them if Canada qualifies for the Olympics. Amelia Pietrangelo, recently named Canada’s U-20 Player of the Year, didn’t make the team after being invited to an evaluation camp. Again, Herdman has left the door open for the youngster to be recalled.
Herdman’s decision to rely mostly on experienced players was a deliberate one.
"It’s not one of those events where you can start testing and developing players … it’s an event we have to go and win, and with that we had to pick a squad that we felt would deliver us that outcome," Herdman told reporters during a conference call.
The CONCACAF qualifying tournament runs from Jan. 19-29, with all 15 matches taking place at BC Place Stadium, home of Major League Soccer’s Vancouver Whitecaps and the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League.
Programming Alert: Sportsnet will air all of the tournament’s 15 games live across its multiple channels.
The 11-day competition sees eight teams in two round-robin groups vying for two Olympic berths, with the tournament finalists automatically qualifying for the London Games. Canada will compete in Group A and will play Haiti (Jan. 19), Cuba (Jan. 21) and Costa Rica (Jan. 23). Group B consists of the United States, Mexico, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic.
The top two teams in each group advance to the semifinals on Jan. 27.
Ranked No. 9 in the current FIFA world rankings, Canada’s stiffest competition at the tournament will be the top-ranked Americans and Mexico (No. 22). Canada’s lone Olympic appearance was at the 2008 Beijing Games when it lost to the U.S., the eventual gold-medal winner, in the quarter-finals.
The Canadian team enters this qualifying tournament with a point to prove after it travelled to Germany with great expectations only to bow out in the first round and finish dead last at the World Cup.
Herdman took charge in September after previous coach Carolina Morace parted ways with the Canadian Soccer Association, and the Englishman led the team to the gold medal at the Pan Am Games in October.
But the field at the Pan Ams wasn’t particularly strong — Brazil did not bring its best players and the U.S. didn’t even participate. So while Canada’s gold-medal victory in Mexico was a feel-good story after the World Cup disappointment, it was hardly an indication of the Canadian team’s rebirth.
The true measure of Canada’s resilience will be weighed in Vancouver, and make no mistake about it: anything short of securing an Olympic berth will be seen as a failure. This will also be a major test for Herdman, as this will be his first major tournament in charge and will serve as a barometer of the progress the team has made during his tenure.
And after embarrassing results in Germany that left a sour taste a in a lot of fans’ mouths, it will be important for the Canadian team to impress on home soil and get supporters onside again.
“There’s definitely an excitement and a buzz from the players (about playing in Vancouver),” Herdman said. “These players know they have to achieve something big, and they have to do it in their own country.”
Herdman feels the players’ "commitment to their own personal development" has resulted in the team making god progress since he came aboard.
"We have an exciting group of players who are prepared to work as hard off the pitch as they are on the pitch," Herdman stated. "They have a clear vision of who they want to be a clear vision of what they want to achieve. When those things are in place, the discipline and the passion comes next, and we’ve seen that from the team over the last three or four months."
The English coach also thinks fans will notice the differences on the field between this team and the one that competed at the World Cup.
"I think they’ll see a shift in mindset. We’ve worked really hard on the team not falling into a default of the ball being sent down the pitch quite aimlessly," Herdman explained.
“They’ve been working hard to understand what the opposition do and how the opposition can put them under pressure to press that (panic) button."
Canada’s roster
Head coach: John Herdman
Goalkeepers: Karina LeBlanc, Erin McLeod
Defenders: Candace Chapman, Carmelina Moscato, Shannon Woeller, Melanie Booth, Robyn Gayle, Lauren Sesselmann, Chelsea Stewart, Rhian Wilkinson
Midfielders: Kaylyn Kyle, Diana Matheson, Kelly Parker, Sophie Schmidt, Desiree Scott, Brittany Timko
Forwards: Chelsea Buckland, Christina Julien, Christine Sinclair, Melissa Tancredi