Olympic champion Germany edges Canada on late goal
Substitute Turid Knaak scored in the 84th minute to give Olympic champion Germany a 3-2 win over Canada in a women’s soccer friendly Sunday.
Canadian ’keeper Stephanie Labbé made a fine diving save off a Sara Dabritz free kick from some 20 yards out, pushing the ball off the post. But it bounced back to the other side of the goal, where Knaak headed it in.
Captain Christine Sinclair, with her 173rd international goal, and Jessie Fleming scored for Canada.
Sinclair’s 59th-minute goal, knotting the score at 1-1, came off a Janine Beckie free kick after Beckie was sent flying by a German defender. The Germans were unable to clear the bouncing ball, which was sent back into the box for Sinclair — making her 268th national team appearance — to head home.
Sinclair, who turns 35 on Tuesday, is now 11 goals from tying American Abby Wambach’s record of 184.
Fleming gave Canada a brief lead in the 69th minute after Canada pounced on a poor backpass. But Germany replied a minute later with Dabritz, another substitute, beating Labbé with a high accurate shot from just outside the penalty box.
Canada’s defence was ripped open early as Svenja Huth scored in the first minute. Star centre back Kadeisha Buchanan lost the ball in midfield and Lena Petermann split the Canadian defence with a ball to Lea Schueller. A chasing Rebecca Quinn managed to poke the ball away, but it went straight to Huth, whose low shot beat a diving Labbé.
“Blitzstart!” tweeted the German women’s official account.
A sold-out Tim Hortons Field crowd of 22,826 was a sea of red for the Canadian women’s first home game since last November — and the first in Hamilton since May 2015.
Fourth-ranked Canada steadied itself after a nightmarish start that saw its defence ripped open in the first minute from a giveaway.
The Canadians, playing with Sinclair and Sophie Schmidt up front, had their moments — mostly counterattacking off German mistakes. Canada is now 3-3-0 in 2018. Canada fielded a strong team, calling on its top echelon of talent other than teenage striker Jordyn Huitema, who is captaining the Canadian entry at the CONCACAF U-17 Championship.
The Canadian starting 11 featured eight players who started the bronze-medal match game at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Germany brought a younger squad with just one starter from the Olympic final in Rio in its starting lineup.
The game was the first at home for Canada coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller, a former assistant coach to John Herdman who took over the women’s team in January when Herdman switched to the men’s program.
Heiner-Moller switched tactics, opting for a 3-5-2 formation rather than the women’s traditional 4-3-3.
The Canadians steadied themselves after the rocky start and came close in the 11th minute, but Schmidt’s header off a Beckie corner hit a German defender positioned on the goal-line.
Labbé made a fine save in the 24th minute to deny Petermann.
With six substitutes allowed, both teams made changes. Carina Schlueter took over the German goal at halftime.
Canada’s career record against Germany dropped to 1-15-0. The lone win — a 2-1 decision — was a preliminary-round matchup at the 2016 Olympics. Germany avenged that loss with a 2-0 victory in the semifinal.
The Canadian women are gearing up for the CONCACAF Women’s Championship in October. The tournament doubles as a World Cup qualifier.
Candace Chapman, a Canada Soccer Hall of Fame inductee in 2018, was honoured before the match.