Canada wary of lower-ranked Swiss
Hometown heroes careful in not looking past Sunday
VANCOUVER— Canada may outrank their round of 16 opponents Switzerland by 11 places on the world ladder, but in the hometown squad’s eyes an underdog they are not.
“There’s no David and Goliath story about this game. You’ve got a very organized team with two world-class strikers who play in the top teams in the world,” said Canada coach John Herdman, a day after the matchup between the Canucks and the Swiss was confirmed for Sunday at B.C. Place in Vancouver.
Led by coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, Switzerland was the first European team to qualify for this summer’s Women’s World Cup, their maiden appearance in the competition.
They’ve been less dominant since the competition began; memories of a 6-1 thrashing of Ecuador are overshadowed by narrow losses to holders Japan and Cameroon, ranked No. 53 in the world.
And the third-place finish means a match against Group A winners Canada, which has won three and drawn one of the two squad’s past four meetings.
But despite an impressive finish in the group stage, the Canadians haven’t been up to snuff yet either.
Solid defending — they’re tied for second on the tournament’s list of goals against after the round robin, having only conceded one — doesn’t win games without a potent offence. Canada has only scored two goals in three games, and only one from open play, with less than half of their chances going on net.
Sunday’s game is crucial for Herdman’s team in more ways then one. Lose and they’re out far sooner than the podium place they’ve made their goal.
Win unconvincingly again and fans could check out, uninspired.
Win handily and a 50,000-plus crowd at B.C. Place could become their much-touted 12th man, which could be necessary in an even tougher quarter-final against either England or Norway.
Herdman is sure the Swiss will go into the game thinking they could push a result.
“From Canada’s perspective, we’re just looking at the game and saying, ‘What do we have to do? We’ve got to win the game.’ That’s what you do in the knockout rounds.”
That list includes shutting down strikers Ramona Bachmann and Lara Dickenmann on the counter-attack and breaking down a well-organized defence with an attack that shows composure in front of the net.
Canada could be without Diana Matheson to do so. The team had been preparing to bring the 31-yearold veteran back following a couple of long-term injuries in the round of 16, but the midfielder suffered a mild quad strain ahead of Monday’s game against the Netherlands.
“The light’s looking amber to green at the minute for Diana to be back on the roster,” Herdman said.
Her counterpart Sophie Schmidt, though, is expected to be in the lineup, if in pain, after suffering a bruised hip when she took a hard fall in Monday’s game.
In the do-or-die game, in a stadium many of the Canadian’s consider home field, Canada’s just going to have to find a way through, Herdman said.
“We don’t get another chance at this game, and our style and our approach will have to be better to overcome what the Swiss are going to throw at us.”