Soccer team
Canada soccer
February 19 ,2023
Canada got back to winning ways at the SheBelieves Cup on Sunday, beating Brazil 2-0 after scoring once on either side of halftime. With the victory, Canada has overtaken Brazil for second place on goal difference, but remain three points behind the host Americans for top spot with one match to play.
Starting the match much sharper than they did against the United States on Thursday, it was Canada who had the first good chance, despite some early pressure from the Brazilians. In the 12th minute, Adriana Leon was in on goal and fired a powerful shot at Lorena, but the Brazilian goalkeeper was able to get a strong hand to it at her near post.
Canada continued to put the opposing backline under pressure, with Leon inches away from redirecting home a cross from Beckie a few moments later.
Brazil did a lot of their attacking in transition, trying to take advantage of Canadian giveaways. They came closest to scoring in the first half on a long-distance free kick from Debinha that found its way to the goal line, where it was caught up high by Kailen Sheridan — who quickly held it in front of her to show the referees it hadn’t crossed the line.
Canada took the lead just after the half-hour mark, after a well-worked set piece in the 31st minute. Jessie Fleming curled a corner kick into the penalty area, where the ball met Vanessa Gilles. A thumping header from Gilles beat Lorena, and give Canada a 1-0 advantage.
That’s how the first half would end, as Canada continued to have a lot of the possession of the ball, never looking too uncomfortable.
Brazil started the second half quickly, however, instantly testing Kailen Sheridan twice in quick succession. Canada looked flat-footed coming out of the break, leaving a couple of quick counter-attacks on the table. Debinha had the better chance of the two, trying to curl a shot toward the far post from the edge of the 18-yard box, but Sheridan was able to stretch to claim the ball and hang onto it.
Ludmila then tested the Canadian backline again with a direct run at them, chasing down a pass from Kerolin before Sheridan was able to slide in and get a foot to the ball, preventing a wide open shot from close range. The first 10-15 minutes of the half were dominated by Brazil, but they had nothing to show for it.
Despite Debinha and Brazil’s strong start to the half, Pia Sundhage opted to take her off just before the hour mark, replacing her with the legendary Marta — on her 37th birthday, and making a second consecutive appearance off the bench after a months-long recovery from a knee injury. She was effective at times during her 30+ minute shift, including a couple of trademark dribbles to beat a defender and create room for a pass.
Canada survived the early onslaught, and doubled their lead in the 72nd minute. After another good delivery into the penalty area from Jessie Fleming, this time from a free kick, the ball pinballed around the box before eventually falling to second half substitute Evelyne Viens. She stepped up and fired a volley that took a deflection off a defender before finding the back of the net.
Sheridan came up with another big save in the 80th minute as Brazil went back to work, getting low to kick away a header from a deep cross into the box. She followed it up a minute later with an athletic save to push the ball over the crossbar, before catching the ensuing corner as well.
Canada were able to hold on for the remaining few minutes of the match, claiming a 2-0 victory. With the win they climb over Brazil into second place in the standings — three points behind the United States, who beat Japan 1-0 earlier on Sunday.
Three Observations
Canada lineup altered as opportunities given to youngsters, and Lawrence tried higher up the pitch
After playing close to her best-possible starting eleven in Canada’s SheBelieves Cup opener against the United States, head coach Bev Priestman made two changes to the squad to bring in a pair of youngsters.
Christine Sinclair was dropped to the bench in favour of 2022 Canada Soccer Young Player of the Year Simi Awujo starting in that central attacking midfield spot. Jade Rose, who won that award in 2020 and 2021, came into the team at right back, pushing Ashley Lawrence forward to the right wing spot. Jordyn Huitema was the other player sent to the bench, moving Adriana Leon from right wing into the striker position Huitema occupied on Thursday.
Kailen Sheridan started in goal again, behind Allysha Chapman, Vanessa Gilles, Kadeisha Buchanan, and Rose. Julia Grosso and Jessie Fleming started in a double pivot behind Awujo, with Janine Beckie on the left wing, Leon up top and Lawrence on the right. At times Lawrence and Beckie — two of the most versatile players in the team — switched sides to give the Brazilian defenders a different look.
Quinn missed out due to an illness according to a tweet from Canada Soccer, but they were expected to play some role in this match as well.
One of the reasons Rose has stood out, and her development as a player is so exciting, is her composure for such a young player. In Australia late last year she showed no fear against one of the world’s greatest players in Sam Kerr, and this time around she put in another solid performance against a pair of superstars in Debinha and Marta.
She played a pass up the field early in the first half to Janine Beckie, who wasn’t able to finish the chance created by the young defender. What was clear, however, is that Rose possesses the vision to not only spot the opportunity for the pass, but to then execute it. She’s also a physical presence, winning a couple of headers and not shying away from tackles.
There were a couple of shaky moments at the beginning of the second half where a rushed pass and a mistimed run led to a couple of giveaways, but with experience and more reps at right back (Rose has usually been deployed in the middle of the backline), those mistakes will hopefully be reduced.
Awujo has also gained a reputation as a good passer of the ball, but was started at the number ten position instead of deeper in midfield where she plays more regularly at the NCAA level. She often looked for safer, lateral passes instead of the line breaking passes needed to spring the striker forward in attack, a sign perhaps that it wasn’t her most natural position. Playing Fleming there and Awujo next to Grosso might have made more sense, but Awujo put in a solid shift nevertheless.
At halftime Awujo was replaced by Christine Sinclair, and Gilles was replaced by Shelina Zadorsky as Priestman looked to inject some more experience off the bench. Priestman went back to her bench again a few minutes after the break, bringing in Sophie Schmidt for Grosso to further sure things up defensively.
Beckie, Lawrence and Leon were all removed in the 61st minute, replace by Cloé Lacasse, Evelyne Viens and Jordyn Huitema as Priestman totally shook up her attack. Lacasse went to the left wing, Viens up top, and Huitema came into the match on the right side.
Viens nearly had the dream start to her appearance. After a cross from Rose was floated into the box, Sinclair brought the ball down with her chest to lay it off for her teammate. Viens struck the ball with her first touch, but couldn’t keep her shot down, sending it over the crossbar.
She’d redeem herself in the 72nd minute, doubling Canada’s lead with a finish from close range. After some head tennis in the area, the ball landed at the feet of Viens, who made no mistake with a hard shot that deflected off Brazilian defender Tamires before it hit the back of the net.
Both Viens and Lacasse looked sharp off the bench once again, and after Adriana Leon failed to lock down her spot in the team with a performance below her high standards, there will be increased calls for Viens to be in from the opening whistle against Japan on Wednesday.
“You look at the kids who came in and started, I thought they did outstanding,” Priestman said in a video posted on the Canada Soccer social media pages after the match. “I’m really pleased, I’m proud of the players’ performance, they put in a big shift to get this win.”
“A win always helps to put some smiles on some faces, but I know Japan are a top side. We’re going to have to be organized, have to deal with their technical ability and the way that they play. We’ve got a deep bench, there were some key players on the bench that came in and had a great impact, and we’ll rely on the whole squad now going into this Japan game.”
Brazil come flying out of the gates at halftime, but Sheridan stands tall
Canada looked a bit flat-footed at the start of the second half, and nearly paid for it. After a strong finish to the first half that included Vanessa Gilles’ goal (which would prove to be the game winner in the end), they were perhaps caught off guard by how much Brazil attacked them in the first few minutes after the break.
Debinha, Kerolin and Ludmila were all over the Canadian defenders, pressing high to try and force mistakes before launching quick, direct counter-attacks to try and find an equaliser. Debinha, who scored in Brazil’s tournament-opening win over Japan, was particularly involved. In one instance she ran onto the ball near the edge of Canada’s penalty area, took a touch, and tried to bend a shot into the far corner of the goal, but Kailen Sheridan pounced on the ball and held onto it.
Moments after that, Kerolin played a perfectly-weighted pass forward, taking the Canadian midfielders and defenders out of the play with one through ball. Ludmila chased it down and took a couple of touches toward goal, but Sheridan waited patiently before coming off her line to slide tackle the ball away from danger.
It was a hectic start to the half for Canada, but one that tested them and forced them to sharpen up their game on the fly. After the game slowed down a little bit from that point, Evelyne Viens scored Canada’s second goal in the 72nd minute, sparking life back into the Brazilians.
Sheridan would be called on again to make two massive stops — first from a header from close range after a free kick into the box. The reigning NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year deflected that one away from her net, one of her six saves on the night. She acrobatically pushed another header (this time from a corner kick) over the crossbar as well, before claiming the cross in from the ensuing corner.
It was an inspired performance from one of the top goalkeepers in the world, and one that was crucial to securing three points and give Canada an outside chance at winning the SheBelieves Cup on Wednesday. To win the tournament, they’ll need to beat Japan and the United States will need to lose to Brazil, and Canada will need to overturn the current three-goal goal difference.
“The last game was uncharacteristic for us,” Priestman said in an interview with the Canada Soccer social media pages after the match. “Tonight we dealt with some top players, and kept the ball out of the back of the net, which is not easy to do. I thought we created chances, arguably we could have been more clinical or had more numbers in the box, but that will come.
“We’re building, we’re climbing. Onto the next game against a really good Japan side.”
Janine Beckie makes 100th Canada appearance
Sunday’s match against Brazil was Janine Beckie’s 100th at the senior level for the Canadian women’s national team, the 19th player to reach that milestone. Born in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, but eligible to play for Canada due to her dual citizenship and Canadian parents, Beckie made her senior debut in 2015 and has since been a key part in Canada’s rise to one of the sport’s leading nations.
At the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Beckie scored three goals, tied with Christine Sinclair for the team lead, as Canada defended its bronze medal from four years prior in London. The Canadian duo were tied with two other players for second in tournament scoring, behind Melanie Behringer from the gold medal-winning German side who had five goals.
Beckie also scored twice at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games, as Canada went on to win a historic gold medal. Both goals came in Canada’s second group stage match, a 2-1 victory over Chile, as they finished second in Group A. Once again Canada’s joint-top goalscorer at the Olympics, this time she finished tied with Jessie Fleming for the team lead.
She was also on Canada’s roster for the 2019 Women’s World Cup, as well as both of Canada’s Concacaf W Championship silver medal runs in 2018 and 2022.
On Sunday, Beckie started on the left wing for the second match in a row, sometimes swapping sides with right winger Ashley Lawrence in the latest showing of both players’ versatility. She was involved in the offence throughout, coming close to an assist early in the first half with a low cross into the penalty area that Adriana Leon was agonizingly close to getting a foot to, and redirecting on goal.
Beckie came off at the hour mark, replaced by Cloé Lacasse, after another tireless shift. She’ll likely make her 101st appearance for Canada on Wednesday against Japan as she remains a key part of Bev Priestman’s squad.
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Kailen Sheridan, Canada
If not for a standout performance from Kailen Sheridan between the sticks for Canada, this match might have ended very differently. The Canadian goalkeeper continued to show why she’s one of the best in the world, making six saves en route to an important clean sheet.
What’s next?
Canada will face Japan in their final match at the 2023 SheBelieves Cup, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. That game kicks off at 4:00 pm ET/1:00 pm PT on Wednesday. Watch it live on OneSoccer.
Report by Maria Ocampo
