Canada’s play must match its confidence

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This article was published 20/06/2019 (2617 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

They say they can beat anyone.

Stephanie Labbé said it in her post-match interview on Thursday, and head coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller backed up his goalkeeper with nearly identical remarks shortly after the final whistle. Captain Christine Sinclair has also made the claim since she and her teammates arrived in France.

It’s what they’re supposed to say.

The thing is, Canada’s women’s soccer team did not beat the Netherlands on Thursday, and for long stretches of their World Cup Group E decider in Reims, they were decidedly second-best to the reigning European champions. A 2-1 loss left them second in the section and set up a Monday appointment with Sweden in the Round of 16.

So why the seemingly unflappable confidence?

For starters, they might point out, the defeat didn’t change all that much for them. Victory would have provided an extra day’s rest but also a knockout match against 2015 runners-up Japan. They might have even preferred the Swedes, who lost 2-0 to the United States just a few hours later. And it’s not like they were blown out. Sinclair’s goal on the hour-mark had the game 1-1 until Lineth Beerensteyn’s winner in the 75th minute. Janine Beckie played well once again, and in mostly shutting down Vivianne Miedema, defender Kadeisha Buchanan proved once again she can neutralize elite attackers.

So, there was no reason to panic, and perhaps a few lessons to take away and study over the next four days.

One of those, as difficult as it might be to accept, is that Sinclair, who turned 36 last week, is naturally not the same player she was eight, four or even two years ago. Yes, she found the back of the net at Stade Auguste-Delaune — an emphatic, close-range finish at the far corner after being picked out by a superb Ashley Lawrence cross — but for the balance of the encounter, she was well off the pace. Heiner-Moller seemed to concede as much when he withdrew her only nine minutes after the goal.

In fact, the Dane’s substitutions, which introduced Adriana Leon, Jayde Riviere and Rebecca Quinn, produced some of Canada’s most promising attacking spells of the match. Of course, substitutions are supposed to make a difference, but Heiner-Moller will now surely at least consider starting Sinclair from the bench and using her as a sort of super-sub. Riviere, for her part, could well have played her way into Monday’s lineup at the expense of Allysha Chapman.

There are defensive lessons to add to the homework, as well.

While Buchanan mostly had Miedema under control, “mostly” is still enough to provide the opposition with meaningful openings. She might have done better on the winner, when Desiree van Lunteren’s pass blazed across the goalmouth for Beerensteyn, who was her player to mark. That said, Labbé could have dug out the cross as well, so there is blame to go around. But the point is that against the very best teams in the world — those they say they can beat — Canada cannot afford to shut down mentally even for a moment. Moments decide games, and Canada was found wanting on two of the key ones on Thursday.

So, can Canada really beat anyone?

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The Canadians should be able to progress beyond Sweden, which doesn’t offer all that much by way of consistent, dangerous attacking. From there, they’ll likely face Germany, the 2016 Olympic gold medallists who they managed to beat in Brasilia during that tournament’s group stage. Lyon playmaker Dzsenifer Marozsan has missed her side’s last two games with a broken toe, and could well sit out again on Monday. Germany is beatable. After that would follow a probable semifinal against Italy or the Netherlands in a rematch.

As it happens, Canada’s route through the knockout rounds isn’t as difficult as it might have been, what with the likes of the U.S., France, England, Norway and a reinvigorated Australia outfit on the other half of the draw. If they can learn from their mistakes on Thursday, and improve where they came up short, they can still make an extended run at this World Cup.

Since setting up camp in France, Canada has displayed a refreshing element of fun and oozed unshakeable confidence. Now it’s time to get serious and back up their self-assurance with complete, 90-minute performances when it really, truly matters.

jerradpeters@gmail.com

Twitter: @JerradPeters