Clear 13 oC
| FIFA Women's World Cup 2011 - Canada vs. Nigeria |
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| Written by Carey |
| Wednesday, 06 July 2011 17:56 |
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In their first game they made a good showing losing 2-1 to the host team and one of the favourites to win the tournament, Germany. Their 4-0 loss to the seventh ranked French side was the complete opposite. The Canadian team was completely outclassed and looked out of sync. They certainly weren’t the team that had only lost two of their previous twenty games coming into the tournament. The two losses meant that Canada was not advancing out of the group stage as only two of the four teams in each division would. France and Germany were going on. Canada and Nigeria were going home. The Canada Nigeria game was for pride. Both teams had already been eliminated, but I (and others) was still hoping for a good game. Nigeria is the champion of Africa. Not a team to be taken lightly despite their being ranked 27th in the world. It was the first time since 1995 that these two countries have played each other. Back in 1995 the teams drew 3-3. It was a momentous game as it was the first point for either team in World Cup play. It was not a full house in Dresden like in Canada’s first game against Germany, but there was still a number of fans there to cheer them on. For the Canadian side Karina Leblanc, the oldest member of the team at 31-years-old, was getting the start in nets and fullback Marie-Eve Nault was back in the starting line-up. Despite the fact that it was a game that really meant nothing both sides the coaches had both dressed their A line ups. Even Canadian captain Christine Sinclair, who had her nose broken in the game against Germany and then took a ball off the face in the game against France, donned her facial mask and gave it her all. As the game began I thought it would be an indication of the strength of the Canadian character after a 4-0 thumping. Things started off well for the Canadians as they enjoyed the majority of play in the early going. Nigeria defensively was looking a little wobbly. As the game went on the Nigerians began to find their rhythm. In the 19th minute Leblanc was forced to come up with a big save off Ebere Orji. Once again the Canadian fullbacks were caught flat and a through ball was sent over to the left side to an unmarked Orji. She walked inside the 18 yard box and unleashed a shot. Leblanc played it well as she came out to cut down the angle and challenge the shooter. It was a close call, but no damage was done thanks to Leblanc. The Canadian team then marched down the field and won a free kick 40 yards out at the 22nd minute. Central defender Candace Chapman took it and played a great ball right into the 18 yard box that Melissa Tancredi was able to get her head on. Nigerian keeper Precious Dede was able to get the slightest of touch on it and it hit the post. On the ensuing corner Canada was able to generate another good scoring chance when Diana Matheson played a short ball along the end line to striker Jonelle Foligno, who cut it back to midfielder Sophie Schmidt. Schmidt was able to get a shot off, but it was always curling away from the Nigerian net. The action was coming fast and furious now as in the 24th minute the Nigerians hit the post themselves. Orji, who really should have done better, was unmarked on the edge of the 6 yard box and instead of just placing her shot tried to power it. The ball just found the post to the left of Leblanc.
Tit for tat continued with Nigeria finding the wood again. This time in the 43rd minute poor marking once again led to Perpetua Nkwocha being allowed to take an open shot. The only thing that saved Leblanc and the Canadian team was the post. A goalie’s best friend and certainly Leblanc’s on two occasions in the 1st half. Throughout the tournament the major problem for the Canadian side was mistakes by the defenders. Nault was exposed plenty in the two games she played. Against Nigeria they used superior speed to get by her time and time again. Most of their attacks came down the right side. Nault’s side. The 2nd half saw the Nigerians continue to press. Canada had gone away from the possession type play that their coach Morace had preached and reverted back to kick-and-run. It wasn’t creating any chances and just ended up giving the Nigerians back the ball cheaply. Canada looked very disjointed going forward and needed to be more composed over the ball. Then in the 72nd minute a power outage happened in the stadium and the game was delayed 12 minutes. This seemed to work to Nigeria’s benefit as they scored the game’s only goal less than a minute after the resumption of play. A shot by the Nigerian side glanced off Chapman and fell fortuitously to an unmarked Nkwocha. She remained composed and just stroked the ball along the ground into the left hand corner past Leblanc. It was Nigeria’s first goal in the tournament. And that was all she wrote. Canada was to leave winless and having only scored one goal in three games. This meant that the Canadian team left without a point. It was their worst performance ever at the World Cup. The focus for the Canadians shifts to the London Olympics next year. The coach they fought for Morace said that she would extend her contract past the present 2012 to keep the continuity going. The question now becomes whether Soccer Canada has enough confidence in the program that Morace has built and has done well up until the 2011 World Cup to keep her on. On the plus side what really marked me as I watched the games was how much women’s soccer has improved in a very short time. How many countries have strong women’s soccer teams. That is very encouraging. Now Canada has to learn how to perform better on the world stage before 2015 when we will host the next women’s World Cup and everything will be right again. Game Stats: |
Coming into the Women’s World Cup ranked number six in the world placed some pressure on the slender shoulders of the Canadian team. It is not an overstatement to say that expectations were high coming into the tournament. From fans, from Soccer Canada, from their coach Carolina Morace, and most importantly from the girls themselves. So I also don’t think I’m stretching the truth in stating that them not even getting out of the Group Stage is a disappointment.
In their exchange of chances, next up was Canada in the 32nd minute. Sinclair had a great chance when she was sent in alone. The Nigerian goaltender came out forcing Sinclair to touch it around her. To do so she had to touch the ball twice and this allowed the Nigerian defense to get back and it was too severe an angle anyways.