Australia ended Canada’s FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign with a lopsided 4-0 win Monday, putting the Olympic champion Canadians to the sword.
It was not pretty, unless you were Australian. The 10th-ranked Matildas needed to win to be sure of moving on to the tournament’s knockout round and they wasted little time getting the job done.
It was one-way traffic from the get-go. And rubbing salt in the wound, Steph Catley scored on a stoppage-time penalty after video review confirmed a foul against Canada’s Jessie Fleming on the edge of the box.
A draw or win would have moved the seventh-ranked Canadians into the round of 16. But they soon found themselves with a mountain to climb before a partisan crowd announced at 27,706.
And now they go home after three games, finishing third in a tough Group B with a 1-1-1.
It’s Canada’s worst finish at the Women’s World Cup since it went winless in 2011 and finished last. It’s likely also the Canadian women’s worst game in recent years.
Christine Sinclair says World Cup exit a ‘wake-up’ call for Canada Soccer
Following Canada’s 4-0 loss to Australia and exit from the FIFA Women’s World Cup, Christine Sinclair told CBC News’ Lyndsay Duncombe that she thinks the defeat is a “wake-up call” to Canada Soccer.
And it’s another body blow for Canada Soccer in a year blighted by a bitter labour dispute.
“Football can be cruel sometimes,” Canada coach Bev Priestman told reporters. “I think the team lacked belief.
“When we went into Tokyo I’m not sure anybody thought we would win an Olympic gold medal. I did. The team did. But I’m not sure anybody (else) did. You’re coming into a very difficult group (B at the World Cup). There’s pressure. And you’ve got that target on your back. That’s new territory. And I think that’s the difference … it’s belief and pressure for me.”
Hayley Raso scored twice for the tournament co-hosts as Canada’s vaunted defence was carved open in the first half. It could have been 3-0 at the break but a third Australian goal was ruled offside.
Canadians failed to put a shot on target in a first half in which they looked rattled.
It soon got worse as Mary Fowler made it 3-0 in the 58th minute.
Christine Sinclair, centre, watches the final moments of Canada’s loss to Australia after being subbed out in the second half. (Scott Barbour/Canadian Press)
Talismanic Canadian captain Christine Sinclair, who came off the bench in last Wednesday’s 2-1 win over Ireland, returned to the starting lineup but only lasted a half. One wonders if it is the last game for the 40-year-old icon, the world’s all-time leading scorer.
“I think the reality is with Sinc, you only talk one game at a time. Could this be Christine Sinclair’s last game? That breaks my heart,” Priestman said, fighting back tears.
The Canadians knew a loss might not end their campaign, providing No. 40 Nigeria was beaten by No. 22 Ireland and the tiebreakers were in their favour.
Nigeria and Ireland played to a 0-0 draw, snuffing out that scenario.
Australia (2-1-0) wins the group with Nigeria (1-0-2) also advancing. Ireland (0-2-1) finishes fourth.
Australia’s Hayley Raso is hugged by teammate Katrina Gorry after scoring her team’s first goal against Canada. (Getty Images)
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, better known as AAMI Park, was decked in Australian colours — with its green-coloured seats filled with fans wearing gold. It was hard to see red, although there were pockets of Canadian support.
FFA president Gianni Infantino was also in the house.
The crowd didn’t have long to wait for something to cheer about. A rapid-fire Australian attack produced a ninth-minute Raso goal that was initially ruled offside but was given the green light after video review.
Goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold started the move with a sweeping pass that found Catlin Foord near midfield, She quickly sent the ball forward to Catley, whose ensuing cross handcuffed Vanessa Gilles and the Canadian defence. The ball found its way through several bodies to Raso, who beat goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan with a low shot.
Fullback Jayde Riviere and Kadeisha Buchanan were unable to corral the Australian surge down the flank.
Raso, who is leaving Manchester City for Real Madrid, almost made it 2-0 four minutes later but a diving Sheridan made a superb one-handed save to parry the ball away.
The Matildas appeared to make it 2-0 in the 34th minute with Fowler hammering the ball into the goal after the Canadians failed to clear their lines. Australian players were literally queuing up to take the shot while Buchanan was down injured on the play.
Video review negated the goal, however, with Ellie Carpenter ruled to be offside.
Australia scored again in the 39th minute off a Kyra Cooney-Cross corner as Canada’s defence was again found wanting. Sheridan’s attempted punch went for naught and the ball bounced off Canada’s Quinn, who goes by one name, to Raso who poked it in from point-blank range.
This time it counted. And the Canadians looked shell-shocked, not for the first time at this tournament.
Coach Bev Priestman sent on Allysha Chapman, Sophie Schmidt, Cloe Lacasse and Deanne Rose to open the second half, taking off Riviere, Julia Grosso, Sinclair and Jordyn Huitema.
Canadian players react after Australia’s second goal in a 4-0 loss on Monday. (Scott Barbour/Canadian Press)
But it was more of the same, with Australia soon adding a third goal.
A long ball found Foord racing down the left flank and Fowler, despite the presence of six Canadian defenders in the penalty box, flicked her cross off the post into the goal.
Canada’s Adriana Leon came off in the second half for a concussion check.
Rose tested Arnold in the 66th minute — Canada’s first shot on target — but the Australian ‘keeper was up to the task. In the 76, Schmidt fired a shot high.
Olivia Smith, just 19, came on in the 77th minute for her third cap. Two minutes later, Australia came close again as Fowler’s shot hit the post.
The Matildas were looking to avoid following New Zealand, which on Sunday became the first-ever Women’s World Cup host team not to survive the first round.
Australia coach Tony Gustavsson called the game a “crossroads moment.”
Much of the pre-game talk focused on the health of Australian star forward Sam Kerr, who missed the first two matches with a calf injury. Kerr, Australia’s all-time leading scorer with 63 goals in 120 appearances prior to Monday, started on the bench but wasn’t needed.
The Canadian question-marks were Sinclair and Buchanan.
Canada captain Christine Sinclair, left, battles Australia’s Katrina Gorry for the ball. (Getty Images)
Sinclair limped off the field in last Wednesday’s 2-1 win over Ireland after an impactful 45 minutes as a substitute. Buchanan, dealing with illness, exited late in the first half of the Irish game.
Both were in the Canadian starting 11 Monday with Evelyne Viens shifting to the bench to make room for Sinclair, who was making her 326th appearance. The Canadian starters went into the game with a combined cap count of 1,103.
Australia now faces the Group D runner-up while Nigeria takes on the Group D winner in the round of 16, with both games set for Aug. 7.
No. 4 England (2-0-0) currently tops Group D with No. 13 Denmark (1-1-0) second, ahead of No. 14 China (1-1-0) on a tiebreaker. The final positions in Group D will be decided Tuesday when England takes on China in Adelaide and winless Haiti faces Denmark in Perth.
Canada’s best finish at the tournament was fourth in 2003. Four years ago in France, the Canada exited in a 1-0 loss to Sweden in the round of 16.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.
The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.
Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.
There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.
Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.
But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.
The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”
The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.
Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.
Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.
Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.
Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.
“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”
“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.
Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.
Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.
The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.
Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.
Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.
Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.
Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.
Canada Roster
Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).
Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).
Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).
Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
