Playing on home turf means far more than when you are playing elsewhere trying to get used to the surroundings, the customs of the region as well as the various altitudes.
True it’s not a national summer or winter sport, but regardless Soccer Canada, or rather John Herdman has put together a group that represents Canada in such a professional manner.
They managed to advance to play against Brazil and while the fought hard they fell by a 2-1 margin in front of a passionate Brazilian crowd in the third and final match of the group stage at the Torneio Internacional de Natal.
Brazil managed to score first with a goal from Andressa Alves off a free kick just outside the Canadian box with a curling left-footed blast over the wall, placing it into the top corner.
Brazil got their second of the match late in the first half when Marta (striker) pulled the Canadian defense out of position and find Débinha alone.
Canada’s Captain Christine Sinclair played the ball off a throw in, and found Josée Belanger in front of the opposition net.
When the match ended, Head Coach John Herdman praised the young players he had brought in for this tournament, and he looks to the future with the squad he is developing ahead of the CONCACAF Olympic qualifiers taking place in Texas in February.
Canada’s goal throughout the qualifiers are to bring home a medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics from the summer games.
This alone requires Canada’s coaching staff to evaluate the effectiveness of tactics and pairings, and he did not shy away from pointing out where work had to be done.
He told members of the media “Our team showed real resilience in the second half, but we missed that little bit of quality in the middle to attacking third.”
He continued “I think our front five gave them some problems and our back four were quite resolute and there was just something in the middle that we were missing and when there was space in behind they seemed to find it and we didn’t.”
With a blend of youth and veterans on the team assembled in Brazil, Herdman has plenty to work with, including players with exceptional range like tonight’s goal scorer Josée Belanger, who he played at both forward and fullback during the match.
Coming into the match, Herdman knew the Brazilian side would be tight as they have been together as a team since January and have played five international matches in that time period.
Aware this was the best Brazilian team Canada will face, he was pleased with how his young side faired against the top South American squad.
The focus is now on Sunday’s match, when Canada will get another chance to top Brazil in the Final at Arena das Dunas.
For more info please visit Soccer Canada.
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