Canada have more to lose in quarterfinal clash with England
It's not supposed to be about the coaches at this 2015 Women's World Cup. The game is what's on display. However, in order to get to the story of this Canada vs. England quarterfinal, it's good to understand where both coaches come from: England.
In other words, Mark Sampson (England) and John Herdman (Canada) have more in common than ability to rock a tight white dress shirt.
Herdman is the Consett, County Dunham-born coach of Canada whose football allegiance still belongs to Newcastle back home. Herdman left England to coach the New Zealand women's national soccer team, leading the Football Ferns to qualify for the 2007 and 2011 World Cups. After that, Canada brought Herdman on board to give superstar Christine Sinclair a man she calls the best coach she ever had. Herdman has been the driving force behind Canada's vigorous promotion of the women's game. The World Cup is in Canada due largely to the way Herdman has lent his dynamic ability to motivate and sell the game.
Canada may be exactly where it wants to be in this tournament. An appearance in Vancouver in the July 5 final is such a premium for the Canadians, the pressure they're experiencing is palpable. However, Canada has not proved itself to be anywhere near the form of top-ranked teams like Germany, France, Japan or even the United States. Still, getting to this stage in the tournament was critical.
"My job is to fuel passion in people so they see a bigger vision of themselves," Herdman said after Canada defeated Switzerland in the Round of 16 in front of a packed house at B.C. Place in Vancouver. "The conversations I'm having with Christine Sinclair are not about winning a trophy at this point in her life. It's about what legacy she leaves for her country. That fuels something different in her."
Now Herdman and Canada's road to the Women's World Cup semifinals goes through England. The sixth-ranked Lionesses defeated No. 11 Norway 2-1 in Ottawa on Monday to set up a quarter-final showdown with No. 8 Canada in Vancouver on Saturday. With their less than stellar play and just-barely-good-enough results in this World Cup, Canada will find out whether their host-nation luck will continue.
Canada barely made any noise in group play, earning a 1-0 win over China in the opener on a tailor-made call against China that gave Sinclair a late-game penalty kick, which she buried. It has not gotten much better for them: Canada has won two games 1-0 and had two draws. But they have survived, in part due to FIFA's hand-picked draw that give Canada the easiest path to the final. They have yet to face a top-ranked team in this World Cup. Which ever side wins then faces the winner of Japan vs. Australia -- both daunting opponents for Canada or England.
Much is riding on Sinclair, who is women's soccer in Canada, and her face is plastered on posters and advertisements from Vancouver to Moncton. But the soft-spoken British Columbia native who plays for the Portland Thorns has been driven to this point in her stellar career by Herdman. It was Herdman who organized Canada to their best performances in 2012, when Canada won the bronze at the Olympics in London after a scintillating game against the U.S. in a controversial semifinal that the U.S. won on two calls against Canada that sent Sinclair into despair.
The attention Canada got for that 2012 run put Herdman in the spotlight and, in 2013, the head-coaching job of England's women's national team came open. Herdman, who had been nominated for FIFA women's coach of the year, would seem the eager type to get back to England and take over his country's senior women's program. However, the chance to help Sinclair and Canada reach a new plateau was determined by the 39-year-old Herdman to be unfinished business. He stayed, and has a contract with Canada through 2020.
Herdman is definitely earning his money. This week, in the face of home-grown criticism about Canada's creaky performance, Herdman emotionally defended Sinclair.
"That woman doesn't deserve to take stick. She's a world-class person, world-class player. She gives everything to this team every single game," Herdman said.
"Look you put her in a different team, she'll score 20 goals. But look around at the goal-scorers at this tournament. [Sweden's Lotta] Schelin goes home without a goal, [American Abby] Wambach pokes one in. [Brazil's] Marta gets one. International football ain't easy and Sinclair's given everything, every single game. (And) off the pitch, she's doing more than she's ever done before to keep this team connected. She's the pride of our country and she's going to stay that. And we should be proud of what that woman's putting in to this Women's World Cup for our team."
England, meanwhile, are riding high with Sampson, their 32-year-old coach. He can already bank some of the goodwill he has earned so far in this World Cup after England defeated Norway in the Round of 16 to record the team's first knockout round win ever. Right back Lucy Bronze struck the 2-1 game-winner with 14 minutes of normal time remaining to give England the decision.
England survived the group stage in their previous World Cup appearances, but were beaten in the quarterfinals in 2011 by France on penalty kicks, by the U.S. in 2007 and Germany in 1995. In 2011, England were the only team to beat Japan, the eventual World Cup champs in group play. Now Sampson wants more.
"The names of these players, this team, will go down in English football history - but make no mistake, this journey is not over. Based on our second half performance, we deserved to win that match. We're going to enjoy today because it is a big win for our country, and then it'll be back to business and we're determined to keep this journey going," Sampson said.
In this tournament, Sampson has stressed chessboard tactics and neutralizing set pieces of England's opponents. "We have a lot of weapons at our disposal and we have to know which to use at any given time. Dead-ball situations are an option that we'll keep up our sleeve for the next rounds."
The Lionesses' captain and veteran, Steph Houghton, said the team is looking forward to the raucous atmosphere of B.C. Place. "Those are the sort of games everyone wants to play in. We'll aim to give a great account of ourselves. Our squad's ready for a massive game like this. We can't wait for the challenge. We'll probably be underdogs but we'll go out to enjoy it. We've already shown we can play under pressure. We know we can make history."
Playing an English side that has far less to lose, Canada will again look to see if Sinclair can find that next gear. Her teammates need to step up, too. Midfielder Sophie Schmidt has been too quiet, and veteran Melissa Tancredi has been outmatched. Maybe Canada will have to call on their young stars, like 17-year-old Jessie Fleming and 22-year-old Adriana Leon to spark more scoring. Lucky for Canada that they have a fine goalkeeper in Erin McLeod. England's keeper, Karen Bardsley, has also come up big, especially against Norway when Bardsley denied Ada Hegerberg and Isabell Herlovsen on tough chances.
Whichever way this showdown between Canada and England goes, look for the Englishmen on both sidelines to be patrolling in style.
