Team Canada prepares for rockin’ opener

The highly anticipated opening game of the FIFA Women’s World Cup between Canada and China is around the corner — and tickets are a hot commodity around the country.

As of Wednesday afternoon, 46,000 tickets had been sold for Saturday’s opening match at Commonwealth Stadium.

Trisa Zimmerman, Edmonton’s venue manager, is recommending people in the Alberta capital buy tickets online to ensure they don’t miss out.

At the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany, 845,711 fans attended the 32 matches in the tournament. The Canadian edition has surpassed that total, with more than 910,000 tickets sold for 52 matches.

Organizers have said the goal for the tournament is to sell 1.5 million tickets.

“We want the stadium to be full of ( fans wearing) red, be exciting, be loud and be energetic,” Zimmerman said.

She added organizers hope Canada’s opening game will be sold out by Saturday. If 51,000 fans end up packing the stadium, the match will break records for having the highest attendance for a Canadian soccer game.

Team Canada head coach John Herdman hopes the home crowd brings energy to his squad throughout the tournament. Herdman has been preparing his team for this tournament since he was given the reigns for Team Canada in 2011 after a disastrous appearance at the last World Cup.

“We’ve been waiting for this,” Herdman said. “We’ve been ticking the days. It’s been like Christmas Eve coming in ( to Edmonton). This is wonderful.”

“I feel like it’s going to be very overwhelming and emotional and I hope it’s very loud,” said team captain Christine Sinclair, the most decorated Canadian player and arguably one of the best female soccer players in the world.

“There’s something about our national anthem that our team rallies behind. That’s one moment that I’m so looking forward to.”