Canada’s World Cup Opener Against China Gives Hosts a Huge Test

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: June 6, 2015

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On Saturday afternoon, Canada kicks off the 2015 and seventh edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. The host nation's opponent is China, and Canada faces a tough test in the tournament's curtain-raiser.

In the history of the women’s competition, only one host team—Sweden in 1995—has lost their opening game of the tournament, and nothing less than a victory in Edmonton will do for the Canucks.

Going into the game, Canada has somewhat experienced this atmosphere before. Four years ago, Canada went up against the host nation as Germany opened its campaign with a 2-1 victory in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.

Canada failed to win a single game in the group stage, and that would destroy the confidence of its football program. Fast forward to the present day, and an Olympic bronze medal in 2012 has raised the profile and the hopes higher than they have ever been before.



“Canada has expectations for the team but there is a reality there,” Coach John Herdman told Richard Laverty of The Offside Rule in a pre-tournament interview. “The team sits outside the top five teams in the world and we are going to need home support as the x-factor to push us through.”

I think one of the big strengths is that the team are ready to embrace that and not see it as a burden or curse of additional expectation or pressure.”

The avid neutral fan will hope that Herdman’s side can start the tournament with a bang. Having sold-out stadiums and enthusiastic fans at every game will provide atmosphere and colour to the rest of the tournament.

However, that does not mean that China will prove to be walkovers on Saturday.

The Forceful Roses qualified for the tournament after finishing third at the 2014 AFC Asian Women’s Cup. They lost 2-1 to Japan in the semi-finals, which needed extra time; they would then beat South Korea by the same sco...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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