Cyprus Cup gets away from Canada in “tough” loss
England dashed hopes of a pre-World Cup victory party for Canada on Wednesday, beating the women’s national team 1-0 at Cyprus Cup.
The sixth-ranked women’s football nation received a goal from Lianne Sanderson three-quarters of the way into the contest at the invitational tournament, where a truncated format sent winners of groups A (Canada) and B (England) straight to the final.
Canadian head coach John Herdman, who turned down an opportunity to coach his native England two years ago, said in a Canada Soccer release that the match “was a solid effort” from Canada and that his side “were the better team.”
John Herdman at the FIFA Women’s World Cup draw in December of 2014.
“I’m disappointed for the girls. We had a few good opportunities early in the game, and I think we could have taken (a goal) and changed the outcome.”
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Canada – ranked ninth by FIFA – won three matches on its way to the final. Christine Sinclair and Jessie Fleming scored in a 2-0 win over Scotland to start the tournament for Canada. Sinclair was again on the score sheet in a 1-0 result over South Korea. Then it was Allysha Chapman’s turn to be the provider when Canada edged Italy 1-0 to end the round robin portion with a perfect record.
Christine Sinclair (left) at London 2012 against the United States in the semifinals.
Sinclair, the team captain and a national Olympic hero from London 2012 when she helped Canada to a bronze medal in women’s football, said “I think we made a lot of progress in this tournament, showed a lot of growth. I thought we outplayed England in the final. It was a tough one to lose.”
This was the final tournament for Canada prior to hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup at home in June. The team will take part in international friendlies prior to World Cup kickoff at BC Place in Vancouver on June 6.
