Canada set to take on world
Team announces 23-player roster that will represent host country at FIFA Women’s World Cup
VANCOUVER— John Herdman heard some familiar names when he stopped on Monday to ask some soggy soccer fans who they wanted to see on Canada’s Women’s World Cup team.
“Sinclair,” shouted one. “Schmidt!” demanded another.
“Hopefully they’re on this roster,” the Canadian head coach joked — as if keeping game-changing midfielder Sophie Schmidt or Christine Sinclair, Canada’s top player and household name, off the national team was even a possibility.
Sinclair and Schmidt are, of course, among the 23 players chosen to represent Canada at this summer’s World Cup tournament. It’s a roster that’s veteran-heavy but has a sprinkle of fresh faces, such as 17-year-old Jessie Fleming of London, Ont.
“When you look at that 23, it’s an exciting group,” Herdman said. “You’ve got the experience of a Christine Sinclair and the absolute freshness of a Jessie Fleming. You bring that together and I think you’ve got almost a perfect mix. “
The most surprising inclusion was that of veteran midfielder Diana Matheson, the 31-year-old, five-foot-nothing midfielder who was responsible for the gamewinning goal that earned Canada bronze at the 2012 London Olympics.
Matheson, who has 166 caps to her name, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee during a friendly against defending World Cup champion Japan last October.
Matheson has said she had June 6 — the day when Canada opens play as World Cup hosts — circled on her calendar, driving her comeback. Herdman described her rehabilitation with the ol’ day-to-day adage, noting recovery from an injury is always a process with ups and downs.
“Our goal is to have her back playing in that tournament,” Herdman said. “She’s very clear that if there were any chance she wouldn’t have been able to play, I know that from her perspective she wouldn’t have taken a shirt.”
Besides, Herdman said, Matheson is more than a star on the field.
“Her health won’t impact the leadership role she plays off the pitch,” Herdman said.
And Canada has some insurance: she can hand her shirt in 24 hours before the start of the tournament if she is unable to play.
Captain Sinclair, who received the largest applause of the day when her No. 12 was called last, thanked fans for withstanding the damp Vancouver weather: “We can’t wait to represent you and the rest of Canada this summer.”
She said later having the roster for the tournament set means they can truly get down to work.
“Now that the 23 has been nailed down, it’s our job . . . to create a family,” Sinclair said.
“Our goal is to change the sport of soccer here in Canada.”
Peter Montopoli, the general secretary of Canada Soccer, said the goal for this summer’s tournament — which runs from June 6 to July 5 — is to have 1.5 million spectators, which would make it the largest FIFA event outside the men’s World Cup.
Representing the GTA at the tournament are Kadeisha Buchanan, Robyn Gayle and Ashley Lawrence of Toronto; Jonelle Filigno, Adriana Leon, and Carmelina Moscato of Mississauga; and Allysha Chapman of Oshawa. Striker Melissa Tancredi is from Hamilton, Ont., and Matheson hails from Oakville.
After Monday’s announcement, the players will enjoy a 10-day break, their final one until after the World Cup campaign, and Canada’s final friendly before the tournament is May 29 at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton.
They will play sixth-ranked England, a side that defeated Canada in the final of the Cyprus Cup in March.
Canada will kick off the monthlong World Cup June 6 in Edmonton with a game against sixteenthranked China.