Canada unable to overcome 'ruthless' Australian team at Women's World Cup
'Bad night to have a bad night,' midfielder Jessie Fleming says of 4-0 loss
Monday marked the end of the road for the Canadian team at the Women's World Cup. Australia's Matildas came out blazing, not waltzing, and solidified their qualification to the next round. Along with Australia, Nigeria's Super Falcons also move on with the Canadians in third place in Group B.
The sounds of Melbourne's Rectangular Stadium that had 27,706 pro-Australia spectators, coupled with the pressure of the game, was enough to motivate the Matildas to show up and work at a level to which Canada tried to match but could not. It's hard to believe that this is most likely Canadian captain Christine Sinclair's last World Cup.
It is certainly veteran Sophie Schmidt's final game with the team as she previously announced she would retire following the tournament.
Invariably momentum was on the side of the co-hosts. A goal from Hayley Raso in the ninth minute set a tone to which the Canadians could not catch up.
"Listen, football can be cruel sometimes and tonight it was cruel," Canadian coach Bev Priestman said afterward. "We got punished. We [let in] an early goal and the team lacked belief."
Priestman said credit should go to Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson and his team's preparation.
WATCH: Sinclair says early exit a 'wake-up call' for Canada Soccer:
"Australia were the better team tonight," Priestman said. "These moments are hard and harsh, but there are the moments that make you. And it hurts like hell now, but we'll learn."
What Priestman did not do is lay blame at the feet of Canada Soccer, the national sport federation the team had battled in recent labour negotiations, a sentiment echoed by several players in the mixed zone. Canadian supporters might be critical of the federation, but when asked about whether the ongoing issues might be a cause in the loss, Sinclair dismissed the notion.
"We've been battling our federation for support but I can't put this [loss] on [Canada Soccer]," Sinclair said. "We're 23 players and staff and we didn't get it done tonight. More of it is a wake-up call for our federation, the lack of a professional league [in Canada], the lack of support for youth national teams, I think you're just going to continue to see teams reach our level, surpass us, whatever you want to call it, if things don't change."
Goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan echoed that sentiment.
WATCH: Sophie Schmidt shoulders blame:
"It's been a difficult year, and a lot of stuff going on for us. I don't want to say it's a distraction but it's just an extra load that we've had for the past couple months," Sheridan said. "Having said that, we've had it for the last couple months and so I am not blaming that whatsoever for today. Today was on us. We just didn't play our game."
I must say that being in the interview area after the game, it was extremely difficult to see the players feeling incredibly raw from what they just experienced.
"It's a bad night to have a bad night," midfielder Jessie Fleming said with tears running down her cheeks.
WATCH: Tearful Jessie Fleming hopes for redemption at Paris 2024 Olympics:
This match truly seemed to be the climax of the dreaded "Group of Death," in which stellar and deserving teams faced each other. This match was no exception. The competition in Group B killed any dreams of victory for Canada at the biggest tournament for women's football and what might have been the 40-year-old Sinclair's last chance to hoist the trophy.
This journey has not been easy for the team of red and white. They have battled, they have shown their grit, but the vision and the determination of the Matildas was too much.
A sea of yellow and green erupted during the opening minutes of what some considered the most important match in Australian football since 2005 when the Socceroos (the men's side) played Uruguay and qualified for the 2006 Men's World Cup in Germany.
Star forward Sam Kerr was notably absent when Australia's starting lineup was announced, but while the roster may not have been full of powerhouses, it was full of heart. I keep thinking about what forward Emily van Egmond said Sunday and the determined look on her face when she said the Matildas were ready.
Before their entrance on the pitch, the tagline of their social media said they would "run through a brick wall." And that's exactly what they did.
The Matildas' attack seemed to be encouraged by the cheers from the fans that punctuated every touch and every movement. The drums beating in the stands made the hearts of the supporters seem audible.
Canadian fans had been out-numbered in their previous games against Nigeria and Ireland, so surely they could manage this, right? But from the get-go, the pace was different and something felt uneasy. Canada could not seem to capitalize on the set pieces they had in the first half despite having 55 per cent of the possession.
At the same time, Nigeria was playing Ireland in the other Group B match, which was undoubtedly adding stress to Canadians and me. I kept checking the score to see if it might affect the outcome for Canada. But what sealed this deal was the Australians gunning for Canada in a way that was not containable.
A first-half goal by Mary Fowler that would have given Australia a 2-0 lead was called offside due to her heel being behind Canadian defender Kadeisha Buchanan's legs and was disallowed. I began to think that Canada was having some luck. But what Canada needed was not luck, it needed to convert and get the ball in the back of the net — which did not happen.
Meanwhile, the Matildas seemed to have boundless energy and Canada continued to look shell-shocked and simultaneously frazzled as the match went on, and shortly after the disallowed goal Raso scored again to make it 2-0.
It was fair to say that while the Canadians were tested, there are some hurdles that can be insurmountable. Perhaps the passion and drive of the Australians on home soil was one of them. Canada's storied defence couldn't contain the breakthroughs, runs and absolute fervour of the Matildas. Australia played like a team that not only wanted this win, but was burning for it.
My husband texted me in the second half and said that Australia looked not only poised but calculated. Their attacks, their movements were dynamic and had momentum. Keep in mind, all this goal scoring occurred without Kerr on the pitch.
It also seemed as if Australia was constantly building on that momentum as Canada struggled to keep up.
They say that a 2-0 score is the most dangerous in football, but the reality is that without finishing on attacks, that score can linger and can get worse.
Ultimately, Australia did what they said they would.
"We scored goals. We were clinical tonight and took our chances," van Egmond said. "Like I said, it was a mentality piece for us tonight. We all knew that.
Australia was 'ruthless'
"In those moments in football, you know, you can talk about tactics all you want, but at the end of the day it comes down to who wants it the most. And right on the offset, I believe we were on the front foot and we were ruthless tonight, we were dangerous."
Priestman said after the game that the thought of this being Sinclair's last match for Canada breaks her heart. But the reality is that although we want a fairytale ending for our beloved Sinclair, it isn't always what happens. Sport will sport.
Sinclair acknowledged as much when she spoke about the difference of those Tokyo Olympics where they won a gold medal to being eliminated in Australia.
"From the ecstasy of two summers ago to losing tonight, as painful as it is, it's part of sport," Sinclair said. "You have to be able to accept the losses the same way you accept the wins. Hopefully we inspired some youngsters to pick up a soccer ball and chase their dreams. I still think it's the best job in the world … even if it makes you sad sometimes."
But as they look forward to Olympic qualifiers in September, Priestman said her hope was for the team to stick together. There will be more tournaments to win and more opponents to defeat. I hope that they are given all the tools they need moving forward — on and off the pitch.
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