Canada Soccers Womens National Team opened their 2022 international season with a 1:1 draw against hosts England at the Arnold Clark Cup. Millie Bright opened the scoring for England in the first half before Janine Beckie equalised in the 55th minute on a left-footed strike from outside the box.
The Canada draw leaves all four nations tied on one point with one goal scored. In the opening match of the tournament, Spains Alexia Putellas opened the scoring before Germanys Lea Schller equalised late for a 1-1 draw at Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough.
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On Sunday 20 February, Canada will face Germany at Carrow Road Stadium in Norwich at 20.15 local with a live broadcast on TSN (15.15 ET / 12.15 PT). Fans will find extended coverage across Canada Soccers digital channels on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube featuring the hashtag #CANWNT.
We were miles better in the second half and the players were resilient right to the end and we were creating chances, said Bev Priestman, Canada Soccers Womens National Team Head Coach. When we got in behind them and used our strengths, we were better. We learned lessons in the first half and we can now take that momentum from the second half into our next match against Germany.
Beckies goal was the 34th of her international A career, which equals Kara Lang for fourth most in Canadas record books (behind Christine Sinclair 188, Charmaine Hooper 71 and Silvana Burtini 38). The goal also made Beckie Canadas joint-leader in goals scored since the FIFA Womens World Cup Canada 2015 (both Beckie and Sinclair with 33 goals each).
We took a lot of steps forward as a team and we can be really proud of the performance, said Canada goalscorer Janine Beckie. Any time that I can score for the country and contribute to the performance, its something I like to do. It was a great build up on the left side and then you see what happens when we have patience and we bring it around. Jordyn (Huitema) made a great pass in to me, then I wanted to take my touch on the outside, I took a poor first touch, but then came on the inside and Im pretty pleased with that goal.
Canadas starting XI featured Kailen Sheridan in goal, Jayde Riviere at right back, Vanessa Gilles and Kadeisha Buchanan at centre back, Ashley Lawrence at left back, and Desiree Scott, Julia Grosso, Jessie Fleming, Janine Beckie, Deanne Rose and Jordyn Huitema from the midfield up through to the attack. In the second half, Head Coach Bev Priestman replaced Grosso with Quinn (59), Huitema with Nichelle Prince (59), Riviere with Clo Lacasse (65), and Rose for Victoria Pickett (80).
Canada players and staff wore black armbands in memory of Sandi Sinclair who passed away earlier in the month. Before kickoff, Canadas starting lineup posed for a photo holding a Christine Sinclair 12 jersey.
MATCH REPORT:
Canadas best chance of the first half came in the 12. A deep corner found Kadeisha Buchanan unmarked for a free header, which bounced around in the six-yard box before Deanne Rose fired a shot wide.
In the 15, Englands Leah Williamson got a clear shot away from outside of the Canadian penalty area which swerved inches wide of the post.
It was England who struck first in the match to take a 1:0 lead. A cross from a well-worked short corner came into the box and Canada goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan came out but wasnt able to get a strong punch away amongst a cluster of players. The half clearance fell to Millie Bright who struck the ball cleanly to score (22).
In the 34 Buchanan was involved defensively, getting in two crucial shot blocks to prevent England from doubling the lead.
In the 36, a burst of pace and quick turn by Jayde Riviere down the right wing allowed her to create the space to play in a high cross into a dangerous area. The ball was won by an England defender and the goalkeeper was then able to claim it in the area.
Canada came out with more attacking force in the second half. In the 54, Rose slid in a perfectly-weighted pass to Jessie Fleming, but Fleming was unable to pick out the square pass to Janine Beckie.
Minutes later, Beckie tied up the score with a brilliant strike, taking a couple of quick touches outside of the penalty area before finding the top corner with her shot (55). The goal developed after Ashley Lawrence won the ball in the Canadian half and stormed forward on the attack before finding Jordyn Huitema who then quickly made the pass to Beckie.
In the 58, Englands Lauren Hemp received a great pass that found her running in behind the Canadian defence, but Sheridan made a great save to push the shot away from the net and giving Vanessa Gilles time to recover and clear the ball.
The game continued to get stretched with lots of quick breaks in both directions. In the 62, Fleming played a ball over the top to Rose to run onto. Rose was able to get to the end line but when she tried to pick out Nichelle Prince, her pass was blocked by a defender.
In the 79 Fleming was again able to find the space to play in a through-pass, this time towards Prince who got to the ball ahead of the England defenders and found the room to get a shot away but it went right into the arms of the keeper.
Canadas Starting XI in their first match of 2022 saw Kailen Sheridan get the nod in goal. Kadeisha Buchanan, Jayde Riviere, Vanessa Gilles, and Ashley Lawrence made up the back line. Julia Grosso, Desiree Scott, and Jessie Fleming started in the midfield, with Fleming wearing the captains armband. Jordyn Huitema, Janine Beckie, and Deanne Rose rounded out the side up front.
Coach Bev Priestman brought on Quinn and Nichelle Prince in the 59 in place of Grosso and Huitema. Cloe Lacasse replaced Riviere (66), and Victoria Pickett came on for Rose (80).
CANADA SOCCERS WOMENS NATIONAL TEAM
Canada are Olympic champions (Tokyo 2020), two-time bronze medal winners (2012 and 2016), and two-time Concacaf champions (1998 and 2010). In all, Canada have participated in seven consecutive editions of the FIFA Womens World Cup (1995 to 2019) and four consecutive editions of the Womens Olympic Football Tournament (2008 to 2021). At Tokyo 2020, Canada Soccers Womens National Team became the first Canadian team to win three consecutive medals at the Summer Olympic Games and just the third nation in the world to win three medals in womens soccer.
Canada Soccers Womens National Youth Teams, meanwhile, have won four Concacaf youth titles: the 2004 and 2008 Concacaf Womens Under-20 Championship, the 2010 Concacaf Womens Under-17 Championship, and the 2014 Concacaf Girls Under-15 Championship. Canada have qualified for seven editions of the FIFA U-20 Womens World Cup (including a silver medal at Canada 2002) and all six editions of the FIFA U-17 Womens World Cup (including a fourth-place finish at Uruguay 2018).
MEDIA CONTACTS
Richard Scott
National Teams Program | Programme de l’quipe nationale
rscott@canadasoccer.com
m. +1 613.818.0305
Marianne Gagn
National Teams Program | Programme de l’quipe nationale
mgagne@canadasoccer.com
m. +1 613.402.386