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Women's International Friendly: Canada 1, Brazil 0
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OTTAWA — Nichelle Prince considers Christine Sinclair a legend, but the young forward made her own mark on Canadian women's soccer on Sunday.
Prince scored in the 49th minute to give Canada a 1-0 victory over Brazil before a crowd of 16,128 in a friendly at TD Place.
"It's a dream playing with Sinclair," said Prince, a 23-year-old from Ajax, Ont. "I grew up watching her play and that's one thing, but playing with her you see just how smart she is … she's just a very clinical and smart player. Playing beside her the last few years, I've learned so much and improved being beside her.”
It was the first meeting between the two teams since Canada beat Brazil for the bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Canada, ranked fifth, is now 4-3-0 in 2018 as it prepares for the CONCACAF championship next month in the United States. That tournament serves as a qualifier for the 2019 Women's World Cup in France.
Canada and Brazil will meet again Tuesday in a closed-door game.
Following that game, Canadian head coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller will have some tough decisions to make regarding his roster for the CONCACAF championship.
"I had hoped after these games that my job would be getting difficult and it's definitely not getting easier," said Heiner-Moller. "I think the ones you saw on the pitch, they definitely pushed the more experienced players and they do that in the (training) sessions as well ... It's very exciting for Canadian soccer at this minute.”
Heiner-Moller liked what he saw from his squad, but feels there are areas for improvement.
"On the ball, we're still building but we're not there yet," said Heiner-Moller. "We're still building on our performance. We're in great positions and we worked very hard this week on being in the right positions, but the execution lacked just a little bit. In total it's a win in Ottawa and we're very pleased about it.”
The team feels good about its preparation for the CONCACAF championship
"We've been tested a lot this year with really great teams, tier one opponents, and this was another test for us," said Prince. "I think we're just building in confidence and we're improving in little things each game. There’s a few things we need to clean up, but we're still building and we know that we're in a good spot for qualifiers and for next year.”
Canada lone goal came after Janine Beckie placed a ball into the box off a free kick. Kadeisha Buchanan got a piece of it and Prince was able to finish for her seventh international goal.
As expected, it was a physical match. Buchanan was rocked as Brazil's Beatriz took her down hard at the 60th minute. The veteran took a moment to catch her breath and was back out.
Prince nearly had her second off an Adriana Leon corner kick at the 77th minute, but the header went just wide.
The two teams seemed to be feeling each other out early in the first half, but then Canada applied some sustained pressure.
Brazil's Camila picked up a yellow card in the 35th minute after taking down Beckie. On the ensuing free kick, Beckie looked for Sinclair, who just missed connecting with her head.
"This is what you expect when you play Brazil, but we like a physical style," said Beckie.
The energetic crowd endured heavy rain and hot and humid temperatures. It inspired both teams.
"It was beautiful to see all the support for women’s soccer in Canada," said Brazil coach Vadao. "It's something we aspire to in Brazil as we have so little support for the women's game."
Canada earned an automatic berth into the CONCACAF championship, as did the U.S. and Mexico. Costa Rica, Panama, Jamaica and Cuba will also participate, with one more team from the Caribbean still to qualify.
Canada still doesn't know which teams will be in its group. The draw will be held Tuesday. The top three teams from that event will qualify for next year’s World Cup.
Brazil qualified for the World Cup by winning the Copa America Femenina earlier this year.
Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team defeated Brazil 1:0 in its final International Friendly ahead of the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship in front 16,128 fans at TD Place on September 2.
The match was a Rio 2016 Olympic Bronze Medal rematch and the first meeting since Canada beat Brazil 2-1 in Sao Paulo to earn its second Olympic Bronze Medal, becoming the first Canadian team to win back-to-back Summer Olympic medals since 1908 and the first-ever women’s Canadian team to return to the podium.
Canada pressured Brazil in the first half through a number of set plays, but the teams were still even 0:0 after 45 minutes. Canada came out of the halftime break looking determined. Kadeisha Buchanan threaded a Janine Beckie free kick from just outside the box to Nichelle Prince who connected and put the ball into the top netting in the 49th minute.
“We wanted to score a goal and get a win for the fans here in Ottawa,” said Head Coach Kenneth Heiner-Møller. “Defensively we were very, very good. We didn’t let them have any joy between our lines, which is what we wanted, to close down on the ball.”
Canada made three subs in the 70th minute bringing in Adriana Leon for Janine Beckie up front, and in the midfield 17-year old Julia Grosso replaced veteran Diana Matheson and Rebecca Quinn took over duties for Desiree Scott. Canada brought on 17-year old Jordyn Huitema for goalscorer Nichelle Prince in the 80the minute.
Canada will next head to the USA to compete in the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship which will automatically qualify the top three teams for FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019, with an additional opportunity for the fourth-place team through a playoff with Argentina of CONMEBOL. The official draw for the 2018 Concacaf Championship will take place Tuesday, 4 September at 10.00 ET / 07.00 PT and will put the eight participating finalists into two groups of four for the first round of the competition.
“We’re definitely building toward the qualifiers but we need to be better,” said Heiner-Møller. “We’re in great positions but the ball’s just traveling with too much speed or the space gets closed down and we’re into defensive transition.”
Canada, along will Mexico and USA, received automatic berths into the tournament, while the five remaining competition spots were confirmed through regional qualifiers with Panama and Costa Rica qualifying out of Central America, and Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Cuba for the Caribbean.
The 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship will run from 4 to 17 October at Sahlen’s Stadium (Cary, North Carolina), H-E-B Park (Edinburg, Texas) and Toyota Stadium (Frisco, Texas). Canada will start their qualification campaign in Edinburg, with the Semi-Final and Final to take place in Frisco.
Canada’s young guns will also take the pitch in a major international tournament when Canada takes part in the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Uruguay 2018. Canada will face Spain, Korea Republic and Columbia in its group stage beginning 14 November in Montevideo. All four 17-year old players on Sunday’s roster are eligible for the tournament.
About Canada Soccer
Canada Soccer, in partnership with its membership and its partners, provides leadership in the pursuit of excellence in soccer, both at the national and international levels. Canada Soccer not only strives to lead Canada to victory, but also encourages Canadians to a life-long passion for soccer. For more details on Canada Soccer, visit the official website at canadasoccer.com
Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team
Canada are two-time Olympic bronze medal winners (2012 and 2016) and two-time CONCACAF champions (1998 and 2010). In all, Canada have participated in six consecutive editions of the FIFA Women’s World Cup (1995 to 2015) and three consecutive editions of the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament (2008 to 2016). At Rio 2016, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team were the first Canadian Olympic team to win back-to-back medals at a summer Olympic Games in more than a century.
At the last three major women's tournaments, Canada finished third at the London 2012 Women's Olympic Football Tournament, sixth at the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015™, and third at the Rio 2016 Women's Olympic Football Tournament.
Prince scored in the 49th minute to give Canada a 1-0 victory over Brazil before a crowd of 16,128 in a friendly at TD Place.
It was the first meeting between the two teams since Canada beat Brazil for the bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Canada, ranked fifth, is now 4-3-0 in 2018 as it prepares for the CONCACAF championship next month in the United States. That tournament serves as a qualifier for the 2019 Women's World Cup in France.
Canada and Brazil will meet again Tuesday in a closed-door game.
Following that game, Canadian head coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller will have some tough decisions to make regarding his roster for the CONCACAF championship.
"I had hoped after these games that my job would be getting difficult and it's definitely not getting easier," said Heiner-Moller. "I think the ones you saw on the pitch, they definitely pushed the more experienced players and they do that in the (training) sessions as well ... It's very exciting for Canadian soccer at this minute.”
Heiner-Moller liked what he saw from his squad, but feels there are areas for improvement.
"On the ball, we're still building but we're not there yet," said Heiner-Moller. "We're still building on our performance. We're in great positions and we worked very hard this week on being in the right positions, but the execution lacked just a little bit. In total it's a win in Ottawa and we're very pleased about it.”
The team feels good about its preparation for the CONCACAF championship
"We've been tested a lot this year with really great teams, tier one opponents, and this was another test for us," said Prince. "I think we're just building in confidence and we're improving in little things each game. There’s a few things we need to clean up, but we're still building and we know that we're in a good spot for qualifiers and for next year.”
Canada lone goal came after Janine Beckie placed a ball into the box off a free kick. Kadeisha Buchanan got a piece of it and Prince was able to finish for her seventh international goal.
As expected, it was a physical match. Buchanan was rocked as Brazil's Beatriz took her down hard at the 60th minute. The veteran took a moment to catch her breath and was back out.
Prince nearly had her second off an Adriana Leon corner kick at the 77th minute, but the header went just wide.
The two teams seemed to be feeling each other out early in the first half, but then Canada applied some sustained pressure.
Brazil's Camila picked up a yellow card in the 35th minute after taking down Beckie. On the ensuing free kick, Beckie looked for Sinclair, who just missed connecting with her head.
"This is what you expect when you play Brazil, but we like a physical style," said Beckie.
The energetic crowd endured heavy rain and hot and humid temperatures. It inspired both teams.
"It was beautiful to see all the support for women’s soccer in Canada," said Brazil coach Vadao. "It's something we aspire to in Brazil as we have so little support for the women's game."
Canada earned an automatic berth into the CONCACAF championship, as did the U.S. and Mexico. Costa Rica, Panama, Jamaica and Cuba will also participate, with one more team from the Caribbean still to qualify.
Canada still doesn't know which teams will be in its group. The draw will be held Tuesday. The top three teams from that event will qualify for next year’s World Cup.
Brazil qualified for the World Cup by winning the Copa America Femenina earlier this year.
Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team defeated Brazil 1:0 in its final International Friendly ahead of the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship in front 16,128 fans at TD Place on September 2.
The match was a Rio 2016 Olympic Bronze Medal rematch and the first meeting since Canada beat Brazil 2-1 in Sao Paulo to earn its second Olympic Bronze Medal, becoming the first Canadian team to win back-to-back Summer Olympic medals since 1908 and the first-ever women’s Canadian team to return to the podium.
Canada pressured Brazil in the first half through a number of set plays, but the teams were still even 0:0 after 45 minutes. Canada came out of the halftime break looking determined. Kadeisha Buchanan threaded a Janine Beckie free kick from just outside the box to Nichelle Prince who connected and put the ball into the top netting in the 49th minute.
“We wanted to score a goal and get a win for the fans here in Ottawa,” said Head Coach Kenneth Heiner-Møller. “Defensively we were very, very good. We didn’t let them have any joy between our lines, which is what we wanted, to close down on the ball.”
Canada made three subs in the 70th minute bringing in Adriana Leon for Janine Beckie up front, and in the midfield 17-year old Julia Grosso replaced veteran Diana Matheson and Rebecca Quinn took over duties for Desiree Scott. Canada brought on 17-year old Jordyn Huitema for goalscorer Nichelle Prince in the 80the minute.
Canada will next head to the USA to compete in the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship which will automatically qualify the top three teams for FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019, with an additional opportunity for the fourth-place team through a playoff with Argentina of CONMEBOL. The official draw for the 2018 Concacaf Championship will take place Tuesday, 4 September at 10.00 ET / 07.00 PT and will put the eight participating finalists into two groups of four for the first round of the competition.
“We’re definitely building toward the qualifiers but we need to be better,” said Heiner-Møller. “We’re in great positions but the ball’s just traveling with too much speed or the space gets closed down and we’re into defensive transition.”
Canada, along will Mexico and USA, received automatic berths into the tournament, while the five remaining competition spots were confirmed through regional qualifiers with Panama and Costa Rica qualifying out of Central America, and Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Cuba for the Caribbean.
The 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship will run from 4 to 17 October at Sahlen’s Stadium (Cary, North Carolina), H-E-B Park (Edinburg, Texas) and Toyota Stadium (Frisco, Texas). Canada will start their qualification campaign in Edinburg, with the Semi-Final and Final to take place in Frisco.
Canada’s young guns will also take the pitch in a major international tournament when Canada takes part in the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Uruguay 2018. Canada will face Spain, Korea Republic and Columbia in its group stage beginning 14 November in Montevideo. All four 17-year old players on Sunday’s roster are eligible for the tournament.
About Canada Soccer
Canada Soccer, in partnership with its membership and its partners, provides leadership in the pursuit of excellence in soccer, both at the national and international levels. Canada Soccer not only strives to lead Canada to victory, but also encourages Canadians to a life-long passion for soccer. For more details on Canada Soccer, visit the official website at canadasoccer.com
Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team
Canada are two-time Olympic bronze medal winners (2012 and 2016) and two-time CONCACAF champions (1998 and 2010). In all, Canada have participated in six consecutive editions of the FIFA Women’s World Cup (1995 to 2015) and three consecutive editions of the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament (2008 to 2016). At Rio 2016, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team were the first Canadian Olympic team to win back-to-back medals at a summer Olympic Games in more than a century.
At the last three major women's tournaments, Canada finished third at the London 2012 Women's Olympic Football Tournament, sixth at the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015™, and third at the Rio 2016 Women's Olympic Football Tournament.
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