MELBOURNE, Australia — After a frustrating scoreless draw with Nigeria, Canada now turns its attention to a well-drilled Irish side at the Women's World Cup.
Ranked 22nd in the world, tournament debutante Ireland is coming off a 1-0 loss to Australia. But the 10th-ranked Matildas had to work hard, needing a 52nd-minute penalty to get past Ireland in their Group B opener in Sydney.
Nigeria coach Randy Waldrum's team faces the Australians next. And his take on the tournament co-host's struggles with Ireland and its well-organized defence unwittingly shone some light on seventh-ranked Canada.
"I can't speak for them … But I'm sure they was some frustration that they couldn't break through and score in the run of play," said Waldrum. "But good teams find ways to win and they found the penalty and got the result they needed."
Defender Steph Catley, wearing the captain's armband in place of the injured Sam Kerr, confidently hammered her spot kick shot high into the corner of the Irish goal in the 52nd minute before an announced crowd of 75,784 at Stadium Australia. It was just her fourth career goal in 110 international appearances.
Canada could not match that breakthrough against 40th-ranked Nigeria, despite dominating play for chunks of the game. And Nigerian goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie produced a world-class save to deny Canada captain Christine Snclair's spot kick in the 50th minute.
The way both coaches reacted to the single-point haul at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium spoke volumes.
"We've got to move on very quickly. You can get lost and be really down on that," Canada coach Bev Priestman said of the result. "Of course the team and I are devastated we didn't get three points. But at the end of the day, we got one (point) and we took two from another team."
The glass was definitely more than half-full for Nigeria.
"The group is so difficult every point's vital … We wanted three but getting the point keeps you in it and keeps you alive for advancement," said Waldrum. "So yeah it's a very positive feeling right now."
Canada, which had an off-day Saturday with no availability, looked out of sync against the Super Falcons, perhaps not surprising given its bumpy journey to the tournament with the ongoing labour dispute with Canada Soccer and ongoing injury issues.
Nichelle Prince, Deanne Rose and Jayde Riviere came to the tournament with little or no playing time due to injuries. Influential midfielder Jessie Fleming watched from the bench Friday as Priestman opted not to exacerbate an undisclosed injury, in the hope she would be ready down the line.
While Priestman said Sinclair was one of the team's three designated penalty-takers for the match, Fleming would likely have been tasked with the spot kick had she been on the field.
The Canadians won two penalty shootouts en route to Olympic gold in Tokyo, dispatching Brazil in the quarterfinal and Sweden in the final. Fleming scored in both shootouts and also was good on penalties in regulation time against the U.S. and Sweden.
Sinclair did not convert her penalty attempt against Brazil and had been substituted by the time the Olympic final went to spot kicks.
The Canadians also endured penalty kick heartbreak at the 2019 World Cup in France when Sinclair yielded the ball to Janine Beckie (who is missing this tournament through injury) in the round of 16 against Sweden. Beckie was stopped by goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl — who had saved a Sinclair penalty earlier that year in the third-place game at the Algarve Cup — and Sweden went on to win 1-0.
With a world-record 190 international goals to her credit, Sinclair has carried Canada on her back for many years. And she has no need to apologize for having been denied by a remarkable save.
"I just picked a side and I was happy at the end I got it right," said Nnadozie, who plays her club football in France for Paris FC.
But at the age of 40, Sinclair's game and role on the team have changed.
"She makes critical passes, is critical to this team,'' Priestman said prior to the tournament. "But what I do know is this team is no longer just about Christine Sinclair. I think we've got the depth across the forward line, the midfield line, to not rely on anyone for every single minute across the tournament and I think that's what you'll see (at the tournament)."
Priestman needs that forward depth to step up. Margins are slim in tournament football and points are at a premium now in Group B.
Going into the tournament, Canada had scored just three goals and had been outscored 7-3 in its four previous outings in 2023. Three of those games came at the SheBelieves Cup in February when the team's attention was split amidst a threat of downing tools due to the labour unrest.
Priestman elected to play just one game (a 2-1 loss to No. 5 France) in the April international window in order to give the team time in camp to refind its focus and to renew relationships on and off the field.
With Prince and Rose still finding their feet after injury layoffs and Adriana Leon coming off a season that saw limited playing time, Jordyn Huitema started up front against Nigeria. Cloe Lacasse and Evelyne Viens both sparked the team in coming off the bench in the second half, giving Priestman food for thought for Wednesday's matchup with Ireland in Perth.
While the statistics favoured Canada, Nigeria managed to weather the storm and hit back on counterattacks. There was chaos in both penalty boxes as the game wore on.
But no clinical finishing.
The Canadians completed 384-of-459 passes compared to 125 of 221 for Nigeria, and launched 26 crosses to Nigeria's 11. Canada won 23 aerial duels, almost double the Super Falcons' 12.
Canada held a 14-10 edge in shots but only led 2-1 in shots on target. Six of the Canadian shots were off target with another six blocked before they got there.
One stat that the physical Nigerians led was fouls committed, with 16 to Canada's six.
Nigerian midfielder Deborah Abiodun had a yellow card upgraded to red upon video review in stoppage time for a nasty studs-up tackle that bent Ashley Lawrence's lower leg at a seemingly impossible angle. But the Canadian fullback finished out the game, to the amazement of many on social media, and looked none the worse for wear as she walked through the post-game mixed zone.
"Look away now," England's ITV said about a video clip of the foul.
"Is Ashley Lawrence's foot still attached to her body after last night?" wondered one Canadian viewer on Twitter.
Prior to almost having her leg broken, Lawrence had a field day going down the left flank and gave the Nigerian defence fits in the first half.
The Canadians miss Beckie, back home recovering from knee surgery. Like Lawrence, Beckie is a difference-maker.
Canada will need to find a way to unlock the Irish defence and, at the other end of the field, withstand Ireland's set pieces. The margin for error at the tournament is all but gone.
---
Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 22, 2023
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
