Tough Road for Canada in Olympic Women’s Soccer

The opening ceremony for the Games of the 30th Olympiad taking place in London, England will be held on Friday; however, the actual games themselves begin on Wednesday with women’s soccer in the spotlight. Although Canada has a strong team, they have a difficult schedule facing them.

They’ve held practices since last week in Coventry, where they will face the defending World Cup champions from Japan. This is their opportunity to gain a measure of redemption after finishing last at that event in Germany in 2011. Carolina Morace left as head coach, and John Herdman was hired to take the squad past that humiliation.

Japan finished fourth at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and peaked in Germany last year when they triumphed over the United States in a penalty shootout. The 3-3-3 record between the Japanese, ranked third in the world, and No. 7 Canada would indicate there isn’t much to choose between them, and certainly the Canadians hope that’s the case in their opening match.

But by no means are they taking their opposition lightly. “They’re a pleasure to watch and have taken the women’s game to another level in terms of technical ability,” Herdman said in an interview. “Tactically they are very well organized and over the years they’ve been able to mask their weakness, which is their physical presence on the pitch, with real tactical discipline.

“It will be a tough game for us, a very tough game. But a great opportunity as well, playing the world champion.”

The opportunity Herdman refers to is for Canada to shake the “underachiever” label which resulted from their showing at the 2011 World Cup. A victory over Japan would not only put Canada on the good foot, but they need a win on Wednesday because things don’t get any easier for them in the group. After the opening match against Japan, they stay in Coventry to meet South Africa on Saturday, then travel to St. James’s Park in Newcastle next Tuesday to face Sweden.

For them to have any chance, “Captain Canada” Christine Sinclair has to be at the top of her game. Sinclair has long been acknowledged as one of the world’s best players, scoring 137 goals in 184 international appearances. The native of Burnaby, B.C. leads a talented side which has established a strong bond between them and with Herdman. Whether they’ve got enough to make a positive impression will be put to the test immediately, and continuously, throughout the round-robin stage.