Need to know: Five things about England
VANCOUVER— Canada will face sixthranked England in the quarter-finals of the Women’s World Cup on Saturday, after the Lionesses defeated Norway 2 -1 in their round of 16 match Monday evening in Ottawa.
Here’s what the Canadians will need to look out for if they want to move past the English and on to the semi-finals next week.
THE LAST MATCH
Canada and England faced off as recently as May 29, when the two teams met in Hamilton for their last match before the Women’s World Cup kicked off at the beginning of June.
Canada managed a 1-0 win that night, but it would be wrong to assume the England team that took the pitch almost a month ago will be the same team the Canadians will face Saturday.
That opposition included a handful of substitutes in the starting lineup and a team suffering from jet lag.
The 11 Lionesses facing Canada this weekend will be more talented and in better shape.
THE THREAT
Midfielder Karen Carney, England’s No. 10, has scored two goals in the tournament and dominated play in the centre of the park. She will be a handful for Canadian players like Desiree Scott.
THE HOME COUNTRY
While Canada is John Herdman’s adopted country, the coach admits he is a Geordie — the regional nickname for a person from Northern England’s Tyneside region — first and foremost.
Herdman welcoming his birth country to BC Place shouldn’t be a big deal; he turned down the job of England manager in recent years because he wanted to finish out his plan for Canadian soccer.
But with the pressure of a nation bearing down, Canada has already faltered when faced with a similar buildup to a match, the 0-0 draw against Herdman’s former squad New Zealand in the group stage.
They will have to do a better job of blocking out the hype this time.
THE WUNDERKIND
She was subbed just after half against Norway, but 21-year-old Fran Kirby is a future English star.
Kirby scored a cracker of a goal to open the scoring for England against Colombia in the group stage and, later named woman of the match, she has been tabbed by Canada’s Herdman as one player that must be watched.
THE COMEBACK
Having lost their first World Cup match to rival France 1-0, the English didn’t get their tournament off to the start they wanted.
It took the team 71 minutes to score their first goal against Colombia.
That they managed to put their third group stage match versus Mexico to bed by scoring two in the first half shows the Lionesses’ growth throughout the tournament.
Coming from behind in Monday’s 2-1 win against the Norwegians means the Lionesses have continued to improve in the knockout stage.
It has been a slow-building momentum for the English, but they should be up for the challenge against Canada.