World

SheBelieves Cup: Canadian women lose to US amid dispute

ORLANDO, Florida –

Struggling to regain their focus after the drama of a bitter off-field labor dispute with Canada Soccer, the Canadian women received a 0-2 defeat to the US at the SheBelieves Cup on Thursday.

Mallory Swanson scored in the seventh and 34th minutes as the top-ranked Americans proved feisty and had the advantage against a ragged Canada.

The sixth-placed Canadian found some mid-half-like rhythm only to award Swanson her second goal with a sloppy defense. There was a bit of drama in the second half as only a handful of wasted American finishes put the score behind a announced crowd of 14,697 at Exploria Stadium.

The match was supposed to be a tribute to women’s football, a decisive match between the Canadian Tokyo Olympic gold medalist and the defending World Cup champion America. But the match was overshadowed by the Canadian women’s labor battle with their governing body.

The Canadian women announced last Friday that they would not train or compete until their grievances were resolved. They boycotted training the next day and were forced to return to the field in the face of threats from Canada Soccer.

Before Thursday’s game, both teams gathered in the center circle – the Americans next to the Canadians – and then closed the ranks, turning the circle into a heart shape to show solidarity. .

But the friendship quickly ended when the Americans surrounded the Canadian target.

Swanson tested ‘Canadian goalkeeper’ Kailen Sheridan with a shot seconds after the start. Diving Sheridan had to do some somersaults to save Ashley Sanchez’s shot in the third minute.

And the United States took the lead in the seventh minute when Canada failed to make a cross and Alex Morgan passed the ball to Swanson, who fired a right-footed shot into the open. The Canadian huddled behind goal, trying to regain direction.

Midfielder Kadeisha Buchanan launched some protests shortly after, knocking Morgan down with a challenge with no prisoners. There were more difficult tackles during the night, keeping the coaches of both teams busy.

The Canadians began to regain their composure but the Americans continued to attack and Sheridan, 17 minutes into the game, had to be quick to block Lindsey Horan’s header.

Canada was overturned in the 34th minute when Vanessa Gilles’ back pass, under pressure from Morgan near the touchline, failed to reach Sheridan, allowing Swanson to rush the ball into the empty goal in front of him.

The Canadian didn’t test Alyssa Naeher until first-half injury time when the United States goalkeeper was forced into action to save Janine Beckie’s shot.

“Working during halftime,” Canada Soccer said softly in a mid-break tweet.

The regulator faces a challenge of its own next month after the House of Commons Heritage Committee passed a motion on Thursday to “invite” Canada Soccer officials to testify at a meeting next month.

Canada captain Christine Sinclair, along with Adriana Leon, came on in the 57th minute as Bev Priestman made the changes. Jessie Fleming wears the captain’s armband. Simu Awujo, a 19-year-old midfielder, came on as 65th in his fourth Canada cap when Priestman left her bench empty.

Sheridan made a save in the 75th minute, stopping Ashley Hatch from close range.

No. 9 Brazil beat No. 11 Japan 1-0 in an earlier match.

The Canadian is now heading to Nashville to face Brazil on Sunday. She then arrived at Frisco, Texas, to receive Japan on 22 February.

Canadian women are playing the tournament under protest — and have shown it.

Canadians wore purple t-shirts, a symbol of gender equality, while singing the national anthem and wore purple ribbons on their wrists during the match. They also wore inside-out training jerseys during the pre-match warm-up to cover the Canadian Football logo, just as they did at Wednesday’s training session.

They wear purple shirts for the national anthems with the words “Enough is enough.”

Team Canada has promised to boycott the international competition in April, when the women will be in a legal position to go on strike, unless their concerns are addressed.

The women want the same preparation and support ahead of this summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand as the men did before Qatar last year. Both the women’s and men’s teams want Canada Soccer to open the books and explain the cuts to both programs this year.

The Canadian men refused to play a friendly against Panama in Vancouver last June because they were unhappy with the labor negotiations.

The Canadian women’s team last played in November when they split two series against Brazil in Santos and Sao Paulo. The Americans played twice in January, beating No. 24 New Zealand 4–0 and 5–0 at Wellington and Auckland.

After going through a rare three-game losing streak last fall, the Americans won three in a row on Thursday. Before sliding 3 games with defeats to the No. 2 seeds Germany, No. 4 England and No. 7 Spain, the American female was unbeaten in 21 matches (18-0-3).

Canada and the US last met in June 2022 when the US won 1–0 in the final of the CONCACAF W Championship in Guadalupe, Mexico, on Morgan’s 78th-minute penalty.

That marked the first showdown between the two since Canada’s 1-0 win in the semi-finals at the Tokyo Olympics in August 2021.

The Canadian women entered Thursday’s match with a 4-52-7 record against their northern opponent.

Other Canadian victories came in 1986 (2-1 in Blaine, Minn., in the Canadian women’s second official match), 2000 (3-1 in a friendly in Columbus, Ohio) and 2001 ( 3-0 at the Algarve Cup in Portugal).

The February international window is one of the few opportunities before the World Cup for Canadian women to meet. There is another window in early April and another in July just before the World Cup.

The United States is defending the SheBelieves Cup champions and has won five of the tournament’s seven editions. France won in 2017 and England in 2019.

Canada finished third in 2021, the only previous event attendance in Priestman’s debut as a Canadian coach.

Priestman is currently without Nichelle Prince, Jayde Riviere, Deanne Rose and Desiree Scott injured.


This report by The Canadian Press was first published on February 16, 2023



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