Canadian women’s soccer coach John Herdman points to chemistry, skill of squad

TORONTO – John Herdman’s revamped national team plays on Canadian soil Saturday for the first time since last summer’s World Cup with the coach eager to show off his young, hungry squad.

The Canadian women, currently ranked 10th in the world, host No. 8 Brazil in Toronto on Saturday and Ottawa on Tuesday as part of their buildup for the Rio Olympics.

The Games may come a little too early for the maturation of the Canadian team but Herdman has high hopes given the chemistry and skill on his roster.

“The way we’re crafting the culture, there’s just a bit of something happening there,” he told a news conference Friday. “Everybody got a sense around Christmas time, it feels a little bit like 2012.”

“It’s a group that’s not at its peak, it’s not a prime team to go to a podium,” he added. “But we believe we can and it’s that belief that’s important.”

Under Herdman, the Canadians won bronze at the 2012 Games and exited the 2015 World Cup at the quarter-final stage.

Herdman sees his bronze medallist squad in London as part of “a golden generation” that was runner-up at the FIFA U-19 World Cup in 2002.

“They ripened,” he said.

And they blossomed in London, enduring a roller-coaster semifinal 4-3 extra-time loss to the U.S. before rallying to down France 1-0 in the bronze-medal match.

“Because they knew each other so well, they connected around something — a vision — and then delivered,” Herdman said.

In 2015, “that group of players were past ripe,” he said. “They were into the twilight years of their careers and we knew we couldn’t take that same group back to an Olympics. So we’ve infused it with these young players. And there’s just a real good chemistry at the minute.”

The 2016 squad, in its current incarnation, has 11 players aged 23 and under complementing captain Christine Sinclair and a veteran core. Sinclair, Diana Matheson, Rhian Wilkinson, Sophie Schmidt, Melissa Tancredi and Desiree Scott have 967 caps between them.

The 23-and-under contingent on this team has a combined 198 caps with 116 of those belonging to Kadeisha Buchanan, Ashley Lawrence and Jessie Fleming.

The youth have added enthusiasm, passion and pace to a squad that boasts an average age of 25.2.

Herdman will have to cut his 20-woman roster down to 18 for the Olympics. A high ankle sprain to17-year-old forward Gabrielle Carle may have removed one of the question-marks. A goalie is likely to be the other cut.

Canada’s all-time record against Brazil is 5-6-6 with Canada winning the most recent meeting 2-1 in the Algarve Cup final in March in Portugal. That ended a four-game winless streak (0-3-1) against the South Americans.

Saturday’s game at BMO Field is 90 per cent sold out, according to the Canadian Soccer Association, meaning a likely crowd of 25,000-plus. Ottawa was more than 85 per cent sold out as of Friday.

The 32-year-old Sinclair, who has scored 241 times for her country at the senior level, embraces the support.

“With what happened in London, all of a sudden Canadians really cared about our team,” said Sinclair, who has no plans to quit playing any time soon. “Heading into the (2015) World Cup, we were excited about the expectations that were put up on us because it was the first time people actually really cared — if you played poorly, you heard about it. If you played well, people celebrated it.

“It’s exciting. I know from my whole career that’s what I’ve been waiting for — for people to care about our sport and come out and watch us play in huge numbers like we’re going to see (Saturday.)”

The Canadian captain will likely see limited action in both games, with Herdman looking to protect a sore leg.

After the Brazil series, Canada will wrap up its pre-Olympic schedule with a game July 23 against No. 3 France in Auxerre. The Canadians will play a closed-door game against No. 12 China while in France.

The Canadian women have played 14 games since the World Cup, compiling a 10-4-0 record. They have won four straight.

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