(Perth) Seeking ranking points to stay alive at the Women’s World Cup, Canada said they knew they would have to play their full game against Ireland on Wednesday after settling for a disappointing 0-0 draw with Nigeria to open the tournament.
“We want to send a strong message,” said Canadian defender Ashley Lawrence.
The Canadians, who have only one point in the bank and will face Australia (No. 10) in their last match in Group B in Melbourne, must pull themselves together. Canada (no. 7), in the absence of several experienced players, and while others had very little time to recover from various injuries, looked rough in their match against Nigeria (no. 40).
As a result, the Maple Leaf representatives will have a lot of pressure against Ireland (No 22).
“We just can’t leave the field [mercredi] without the three ranking points,” said Canadian coach Bev Priestman.
“It’s a golden opportunity to progress collectively,” she added.
The Irish are not to be taken lightly, however. Australia had to go to the penalty shootout to beat Ireland 1-0 in their opener. And the Irish knocked on the door a few times towards the end of the second half, using their set-piece skills to set the stage for a thrilling end to the game.
“They work hard and never give up,” Priestman said.
“What I do know is that when we are challenged by teams like this, then we give our best,” she continued.
Priestman praised Ireland for their resilience.
That resilience was very visible in the play of Irish defender Louise Quinn, who sacrificed her body against the Matildas. The Birmingham City defender, who has represented her country 105 times internationally, left the pitch with a black eye and a protective one-footed boot.
Her foot injury ‘isn’t very significant’, says Ireland coach Vera Pauw
“We believe she will be able to play… She will train and we will see if she will be able to keep up,” added the former Dutch international.
There was better news from Canada regarding Jessie Fleming, the dynamic Chelsea midfielder who missed the game against Nigeria with a calf injury.
“Jessie had no restrictions in training [lundi]. We have one training session left before [mercredi]but Jessie should be available,” Priestman clarified.
Just like Pauw, by the way.
“Fleming will play [mercredi]she confided.
With 115 games behind the tie on the international scene, the 25-year-old player will allow Canada to count on a certain calm and a good dose of creativity in midfield – not to mention that she excels in a penalty situation. Canada could have sent her into the fray against Nigeria, as their goalkeeper, Chiamaka Nnadozie of Paris FC, made a spectacular save early in the second half following a point-blank shot from Christine Sinclair.
Meanwhile, central defender Kadeisha Buchanan did not take part in the portion of Canada’s training session that took place in front of members of the media. Buchanan was to accompany Priestman ahead of them, but she was replaced by Lawrence — with no explanation from Soccer Canada for the change.
Canada will therefore have to keep an eye on Ireland. A loss, coupled with the possibility of Australia avoiding defeat to Nigeria on Thursday, would see the Irish eliminated from the tournament.
“When you face the Olympic champion, you have to be realistic,” Pauw said. But it is obvious that if we want to get out of our group, then we will need a result. It’s obvious.
“If we win, then we will have our destiny in our hands,” she continued. If we get a draw then we will depend on the other results even if we win against Nigeria [lors de notre dernier match de la phase de groupes]. »
Wednesday will be the 29the game in Canadian history at the Women’s World Cup, and only Ireland’s second. However, Priestman believes that we must avoid falling into this kind of trap.
“We have to respect Ireland. In the end, we saw teams from the world’s top 10, teams that have already won the World Cup, rubbing shoulders with her and snatching a narrow 1-0 victory, she recalled. We can’t afford to go into the game thinking it’s going to be easy. I saw their level of intensity, their will to win.
“However, we know what we have to do, and I just hope that our talent and our experience will allow us to win,” she concluded.
Canada and Ireland have only faced each other once before; Canada came from behind to win 2-1 in a match for fifth place at the 2014 Cyprus Cup, following a goal from Sophie Schmidt in the 90e minute.