Canadian soccer women have come this far at the Olympics, coach says, they might as well go home with gold

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This article was published 03/08/2021 (1546 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Bev Priestman’s message to the Canadian women’s soccer team before Thursday’s Tokyo 2020 final against Sweden will be straightforward.

“We’ve come this far,” Canada’s coach said after her team’s semifinal win over the United States. “I think that’s got to be the message. I think the group won’t go out to the final just happy to be there and go home with silver. I think if you’re going to do something, you may as well do it well.”

Canada didn’t play as well it would have liked the last time it faced Sweden, a 1-0 loss in the round of 16 at the 2019 Women’s World Cup. Sweden was ranked ninth in the world at the time; Canada was fifth.

If the teams Priestman has run out over five games in Tokyo are any indication of the side she will field Thursday, the starting lineup won’t be that different from the one former coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller fielded in France two years ago. Vanessa Gilles will likely be at centre back instead of Shelina Zadorsky and Quinn should start over from Sophie Schmidt in the midfield, but that’s about it.

So the change will have to come in Canada’s play. The Canadian women had a comfortable edge in possession two years ago, keeping the ball for 59 per cent of the time, but a lack of ingenuity and finishing up front allowed the Swedes to defend comfortably and attack on the counter.

The Canadians, ranked eighth in the world entering these Olympics, still can’t be expected to show up and blow out No. 5 Sweden. The differences then and now shouldn’t be stark.

Canada’s attack will likely live and die based on how involved fullback Ashley Lawrence and central midfielder Jessie Fleming can be in the attack, how incisive Nichelle Prince can be with her cuts inside and the way she feeds Janine Beckie, and how direct Canada’s delivery can be from out wide. The Canadians have shown growth in all of those areas over the course of the Olympics.

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There will be little room for any lapse in discipline from the Canadian defence, particularly against a similarly disciplined Swedish team. One mistake in France bore a heavy cost.

And the job won’t all fall on the starting lineup. Canada’s substitutes — namely midfielder Julia Grosso and strikers Deanne Rose, Adriana Leon and Jordyn Huitema — have been effective at pushing the pace late in Tokyo. The Canadians must also avoid any late letdowns; they have allowed a couple of late goals en in Tokyo.

It’s the not-so-distant history that Canada can learn a lot from. The 2019 performance against the Swedes was far from its worst, but it wasn’t good enough.

“We’ve got to believe now and we’ve got to push,” Priestman said. “We can do something really, really special for our country and these players absolutely deserve it.”

Laura Armstrong is a Star sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @lauraarmy