Canadian women lose World Cup opener to Germans

Glass half-full: Canada lost only 2-1 to the No. 1 ranked Germans in the opener of the Women’s World Cup in Berlin. By becoming the first team to score against the Germans in a WWC since 2003, and by hanging close for the 90 minutes, the Canadians sent a message to the rest of Group A and, indeed, the rest of the field that they will be very competitive. Glass half-empty: Canada was physically dominated by the Germans. Until Christine Sinclair scored on a free kick late in the second half, Canada enjoyed some decent spells of possession but had done nothing to trouble German keeper Nadine Angerer. And, had the Germans not spurned many of their fantastic scoring chances, the game could have been out of hand by the time Sinclair scored. Really, the truth is somewhere in the middle. Canada was definitely not worth the flattering 2-1 scoreline, but there were some positives to take from the game, such as the midfield generalship of Sophie Schmidt, and Sinclair continuing on to score after taking an elbow in the nose from German defender Babett Peter. Sinclair’s nose was broken, and she insisted she play on. She is expected to play in the next match against the French. The view was always going to be skewed. For months, Canada has been preparing in private, playing games behind closed doors in various European venues. They successfully withdrew themselves from the Canadian media scene, to the point that the average sports fan in this country knew very little about this team going into the opener. And, the opposition was the host Germans; the deserved favourites. A No. 1 ranking doesn’t actually do the Germans justice. You can argue the gap between the Germans and the No. 2-ranked nation is greater than No. 2 to No. 20. The German dominance of the women’s game is that dramatic. But this was not the game Canada needed to win. As soon as the draw was mad, the goal was to get into the elimination rounds by being better than the other two teams, Nigeria and France. And France struggled to a 1-0 win over Nigeria Sunday. Even though the Germans were dominating possession early, Sinclair had a fantastic chance to open the scoring inside the first 10 minutes. She found herself behind the German backline, but her left footed shot went well over the bar. In the 10th minute, German veteran Kerstin Garefrekes outclimbed Canadian defender Marie-Eve Nault and nodded home the opener, just seconds after she was denied from point-blank range by keeper Erin McLeod. Nault was no match for the taller, stonger Garefrekes. But a nod also has to go to Peter, who was threatening regularly with attacks from her left-back position. She got forward and delivered a perfect cross. And, even though Canada started having more of the ball than the Germans throughout the rest of the first half, they couldn’t find a way through to goal. Angerer had nothing to do. But the Germans continued to counter dangerously, and pounce on the Canadian mistakes. An unforced giveway by Nault allowed Celia Okoyino Da Mbabi a clear path on goal, but McLeod came up with another big save. But Okoyino Da Mbabi got what would prove to be the winning goal later in the first half. Nault, well out of the play on the left side, didn’t move up with the line. Okoyino Da Mbabi took advantage of being played onside, jumping on a long ball down the middle and cooly slotting the ball past McLeod. Yes, there was a recurring theme on the two goals and the one giveaway that led to one of the many surefire chances that Germany spurned. Nault. And she was yanked, along with the ineffective Kaylyn Kyle, at halftime. The Germans grew in strength in the second and created chance after chance. Super-sub Alexandra Popp saw her drive from outside the penalty area skip off the top of the crossbar. And Garefrekes was responsible for what maybe the miss of the tournament. Popp slotted the ball across goal for her teammate to bang into an open goal from a couple of feet away. But, instead of easing the ball across the goal line, Garefrekes put her foot into it, and launched it high over the bar. Sinclair’s bending free-kick effort in the 82nd made the Germans wish they hadn’t missed all those chances. To put the goal in perspective: Think back to the summer of 2003. What were you doing then? Where were you living? What were your hopes, aspirations? Well, that was also the last time Germany conceded a goal at the Women’s World Cup. And Canada did have one golden chance to tie. Off a corner, the team launched a clever set play. The ball was played short, on the ground, and then sent back to Robin Gayle, who was 10 yards outside the area. Gayle then pumped the ball into the box, catching the German line pushing up. Canadian defender Emily Zurrer, who had pushed up for the corner, beat the offside and was yards behind the last German marker. But, she flew at the ball and sent her one touch over the bar. She didn’t realize that the set play had fooled the Germans so badly, that she had plenty of time and space to settle the cross down and shoot.