Barely a month ago, Gabrielle Carle said that if she had been selected for the World Cup, it would have been a bit like “the icing on the cake”. But, in the meantime, she received a call inviting her to the World Cup and her vision of things changed. Now the competition will be more like the whole cake.
“There, it is not necessarily the icing on the cake, since it is the reality. And since this is the reality, there is work to be done. It becomes a lot more the cake than the icing, “illustrated the Quebecer a few days before the World Cup.
The 24-year-old full-back didn’t expect to take part in her second World Cup. In fact, she was not chosen for the Canadian team selection camp, held in June, for the competition whose scope cannot be matched. The 22 other players who will be part of the adventure took part in the said camp.
Not appearing on the list of players summoned to the camp is synonymous with a cut. A non-selection which was “hard” to take at the start for Carle. It worked its way through, however, and ultimately she was “at peace with the decision.”
But once the mourning was over, life surprised her.
A phone call that changed everything
In the final days of camp, versatile defender Jade Rose fell in battle. The verdict: unavailable for the World Cup. At that point, the Canadian team’s head coach, Bev Priestman, decided to call in a young player with a lot of background. The player in question was the native of Lévis.
PHOTO PHILIPPE BOIVIN, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Bev Priestman
The process started “very quickly”, according to Carle.
“I didn’t know Jade Rose had hurt herself when I got a text message saying Bev wanted to call me at 11:00 p.m. Then at that point, I had no idea what was going on, so I didn’t have time to think about possible scenarios. I got called and heard the news. It was direct and I didn’t have time to think about the situation, ”says Carle, very smiling, by videoconference.
And this “big shock wave” upset the evening of the Canadian. Rather than going to San Diego to face the Wave there, Carle was not going to follow her teammates from the Spirit of Washington and was going to take the direction of Australia.
“Initially, I wonder how it will work, all that. Because there, I have three days to prepare everything. I have to completely redo my suitcase. I have to cancel appointments… Me, I had flights planned for Quebec to see my family and my friends. So there was all that playing in my head. I would say that initially, I was quite stressed, ”she laughs.
“But of course I was incredibly grateful,” added the one who has been on the national team program since the age of 17.
Play for the badge or the number
Despite his young age, it is not the experience that is missing for the side. She took part in the World Cup in France in 2019, then in the Olympics in 2021. After the Maple Leaf triumph at the Games, she knows exactly what the team needs to be crowned champions again.
“I’m going to prioritize the team,” she points out. In tournaments like this, the individual is less important than the collective, that’s for sure. Me, I come here without expectations, because I had to be with my family and my friends! »
My goal is to be there for the team and fulfill any role, big or small, to the best of my abilities.
Gabrielle Carle
This is the right mentality on the international scene. Especially in the coming weeks, when Carle should be called upon to support Allysha Chapman and Jayde Riviere.
Nevertheless, it is not always necessary to advocate self-sacrifice, especially in a club. You also have to play for the name behind the jersey. After a very successful first professional season in Sweden with the Kristianstads DFF, the Canadian made the jump to one of the most renowned championships in the world, that of the United States, namely the NWSL.
“When I decided to go to the United States, it was with the aim of seeking a similar caliber of play to international matches. To play against attackers who are part of their national team and offer a big challenge. To be in the NWSL and to play every game, it gives me a lot of experience and it makes me progress quite quickly. »
The result was very conclusive and his good performances were rewarded. A few days after his cut from the Canadian team, the Spirit granted him a three-year contract extension, accompanied by an option year in 2026.
This small morale boost, combined with the ensuing World Cup call-up, will ensure that while the next few weeks won’t be a piece of cake, it will be fun for her.
Didn’t come to play the tourist
PHOTO PHILIPPE BOIVIN, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Gabrielle Carle
Even if she is well aware that she will be full of lasting memories in the coming weeks, Gabrielle Carle makes it clear that she does not intend to be bewitched by the majesty of Oceania and the World Cup. “Of course there’s always a part of me that’s going to think like that, that it’s amazing and a dream come true, but that’s the part of me that I have to keep quiet during this kind of tournament, she philosophizes. It’s a part that’s too fangirl and not exactly what you want when you step onto the pitch to play a World Cup match. This part of me, I have it, I will always have it, but I bring it out more in retrospect after the tournaments to tell myself that it really happened and that it’s crazy what you are going through. But during: no. »