Christine Sinclair fired off a rocket from the spot, and Canada won its home opener in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The hosts can now get some momentum going their way when they face 17th-ranked New Zealand in their second in the group stage. Can Canada get going with another big win? Read on as we break down the intense soccer action to come.
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Anything goes with the enigmatic Canadian captain Christine Sinclair. She ranks third in the all-time goal scoring list with 154 international goals under her belt after nailing the penalty winner in Canada’s World Cup opener. She also had the most shots on goal in the team’s 1-0 victory over China (four). But Sinclair also picked up her first yellow card of the tournament. Another one would have her suspended for a game.
[sc:Soccer240banner ]Before Sinclair found the back of the net from the spot, two defenders were troubling China’s defense even more. Kadeisha Buchanan had two shots, both on goal in the victory over China, while Sophie Schmidt had three. It’s not a good sign for the Canadians though that their defenders are threatening to score more than their forwards.
Forwards Jonelle Filigno and Melissa Tancredi could barely muster any offense, combining for just one shot on goal. If they can be aggressive and force scoring chances, then Sinclair should have a much easier job in finding herself open for quality scoring chances. Filigno and Tancredi will also need to be more aggressive to ease of the pressure on Sinclair, lest she gets booked for the second time and ultimately ejected.
But Canada’s injury-marred backline may suffer against New Zealand’s furious offense. The Football Ferns out-shot their opponent, Netherlands, 11-6 in a 1-0 loss this past Saturday.
Canada has now won five of its seven matches this year.
Betting on New Zealand
“We played OK…. but OK is not good enough in the World Cup,” said Tony Readings, New Zealand’s coach. New Zealand now faces a tougher challenge in its second match of the group stage as they face host Canada.
Despite being held without a goal in their World Cup opener, the Football Ferns had plenty of opportunities to net a goal against the Netherlands. Hannah Wilkinson had four shots (two on goal), while fullback Ria Percival fired a free-kick just wide.
New Zealand’s top two leading goal scorers, Amber Hearn and Sarah Gregorious were shutout against New Zealand. But expect them to threaten Canada’s undermanned backline. Hearn has 45 international goals (99 caps) in her career, while Gregorious has 23 (66 caps).
Some of the Football Ferns’ best moments came from set-pieces. They should play aggressively in Canada’s half to draw some fouls for free kicks or gain corner kicks. They had eight corners in their match against the Netherlands on June 6.
New Zealand is still winless in all ten of its Women’s World Cup matches.
Writer’s Prediction
Canada and New Zealand play to a 1-1 draw. Create a betting account now and catch the best international soccer games this summer.
