PRIESTMAN ISN'T BLESSED WITH THE LUXURY OF TIME
New coach of Canada's women's soccer team prepares her roster for run at Olympic gold
Bev Priestman has a lot of work to do with the Canadian women's national soccer team in a short amount of time.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Priestman hasn't had a chance to evaluate her troops since taking over the head coaching duties from Kenneth Heiner-moller, and needs to prepare them for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
Priestman will get her first chance to work with the team at the Shebelieves Cup from
Feb. 18-24 in Orlando, Fla., and on Monday, released the list of 29 players who will be invited to a two-week camp prior to the tournament. From those players. Priestman will select the 20 to make up the Olympic team roster as Canada goes for a third consecutive medal.
“I'm really excited to get on the grass for the first time with this team,” Priestman said Monday. “It's been almost over a year since the group has been together, so I'm starting to get a sense of real hunger to get back together. In the world that we're living in, we're going to do everything we can to execute the camp safely and we're going to do everything on that front.
“On the grass, it's about the group connecting again; there is a whole group of players that aren't in season, so I think it's about getting back together and starting to build some of the ideas two weeks before the tournament kicks off, and then we're into back-to-back tournaments and playing some of the best teams in the world, so we're really excited.”
The Shebelieves Cup is a fourteam invitational tournament held in the United States, dating back to 2016. Canada will participate in the tournament for the first time, joining the United States, Japan and Brazil. All four teams will be taking part in the Olympics this summer, which were rescheduled from last year due to the global pandemic.
“This will be the last tournament setting that we'll get before the Olympic Games, and seeing players play back-toback-to-back and all the process that come around that, this is key for that,” Priestman said. “I think the second thing is that we have two bronze medals around our neck, and our ultimate goal is to change the colour of the medal.
“To test ourselves against some big hitters is where we need to be for an Olympic Games. For me, personally, after the Shebelieves tournament, it will give me a great snapshot of where this group is and the sort of work we need with them to implement some changes, not wholesale changes, but some things that I believe will help the group move forward.”
Canada hasn't played since the Tournoi de France last March, where they lost 1-0 to the hosts, drew 0-0 with the Netherlands, and tied Brazil 2-2.
Shortly after the tournament,
Heiner-moller resigned to take a position with the soccer federation in his home country, Denmark. Priestman was hired in October to replace Heiner-moller after working in England as an assistant with the national team and as head coach of the Under-17 squad.
A product of Consett, England, Priestman had been a member of Canada's national team coaching staff under John Herdman, who left the program to take charge of Canadian men's national team.
“There's an excitement for me, I haven't seen these players for some time, and any coach coming in not having seen a group of players for a year, there is that anticipation,” Priestman said. “You almost want those first three (practice) sessions out of the way so you can make that assessment as to how ready the group is.
“I do know they're working extremely hard away from the environment. I'm excited, more than anything, and I've experienced the Shebelieves the last two tournaments (with England). It's a great tournament, great atmosphere and the atmosphere will be a bit different this year, but I'm just excited to get going.”
Canada's roster has a strong blend of veterans and newcomers to the national team as the country continues to produce world-class talent. Priestman's job is to find the right mix heading into Tokyo.
The team will be led by all-time leading international goal scorer Christine Sinclair along with fellow Olympic medal winners Erin Mcleod, Stephanie Labbe, Diana Matheson, Sophie Schmidt and Desiree Scott. The camp roster also includes five players making their debut with the senior national team, all vying for a spot on the Olympic team.
“Selecting the squad as we sit here right now, will be really difficult,” Priestman said. “I'm excited to see what the new faces bring. I've definitely picked up a tendency of hunger, desire and hard work of the new faces coming in. I think for any sort of winning team, you have to have that level of competition for places.
“For me personally, it's going to be difficult to pick a final roster, but among that team will be a group of experienced, a middleaged group that already have a bronze medals around their neck and some young players that have shown a lot of promise. I think going to be really important in getting that blend right.”