Christine Sinclair saves Canada, but the Canadian team needs others to step up

If soccer matches ended after a pure 90 minutes, this would be a very different story, but stoppage time changed everything Saturday in the Canada-China match that opened the FIFA Women's World Cup. Through 90 minutes of regular play, the Canadians controlled much of the possession and created plenty of opportunities, but they couldn't bury them, and they gave up several far-too-close chances as well. In extra time, though, Canadian striker Adriana Leon made a good run into the box and earned a penalty when Chinese defender Zhao Rong gave her an arm to the face. Sinclair stepped up and converted with a perfectly-placed strike just inside the left post, which Chinese keeper Wang Fei couldn't get to despite guessing correctly. Canada hung on for a 1-0 victory, which puts them in excellent shape going forward, but this match illustrated many of the Canadian team's flaws, which will require substantial effort to correct if they want to keep their dream of winning this tournament alive. Sinclair was the hero Saturday, but it can't always be all about her if this team's going to go far.

The most obvious deficiency came from the play of wingback Lauren Sesselmann, especially in the first half. Sesselmann played several balls poorly that could have led to Chinese goals, but she was bailed out by Canadian keeper Erin McLeod and midfielder Desiree Scott (although Scott earned a yellow card in the process, which could hurt her going forward). She also mismarked several attackers, which led to further Chinese chances, and she didn't look great going forward. Sesselmann is recovering from a torn ACL she suffered last year and hasn't played a ton recently, only rejoining the team in April, so some of this may just be about rust; she did look better in the second half. Canada is going to need a higher quality of play from that position going forward, though, whether that's from Sesselmann or someone else. 

There were other shortfalls, though. Canada dominated the possession, controlling 62 per cent of it on the game by FIFA's reckoning, but didn't generate a lot of top-quality chances from that. That's in contrast to one of the three "DNA pillars" Canadian coach John Herdman cited in the run-up to the tournament, saying that what's even more important than pure possession is controlling the game in dangerous areas. On the day, Canada had 14 shot attempts to China's 5, which is good, but only four were on target, and maybe two were legitimate scoring threats. There are numerous things that can be done to fix this; an extra pass or two might sometimes help matters, as some of these came from poor angles, and utilizing the wings more effectively could also be an advantage, as many Canadian attacks got bogged down thanks to China's strategy of clogging the middle. Canada showed some good things in attack Sunday, but much more will be needed if they're going to look anything like the Kevin Keegan teams Herdman took inspiration from, much less make a run in this tournament.

The entire Canadian attack can't run through Sinclair, as it seemed to be trying to do at times Saturday. China wisely recognized Sinclair as the greatest threat on the pitch and didn't give her much time or space to operate. That should have opened holes for other Canadians, particularly midfielder Sophie Schmidt, who had one exceptionally dangerous strike that narrowly missed the net from about 35 yards out in the 82nd minute. Schmidt should shoot from distance more often; she has the power to be a legitimate threat from that range, and even if she doesn't score immediately, that gives other teams something to worry about and should open up space for her, Sinclair and others to do more in close. Schmidt's ability as both a creator and a finisher will be vital for Canada's hopes; the Canadians desperately need a second offensive threat to divert attention from Sinclair, and she looks like their best option.

Even Sinclair herself may need to be a little better. She did have some other chances Saturday, particularly one in the 82nd minute, but didn't strike that one with enough power and had other shots blocked. It was hard for her to make much of an impact with Chinese defenders covering her so closely, but she did get a few opportunities, and she'll need to capitalize on those in the future. She also could stand to get more involved as a playmaker, perhaps on some short give-and-gos to confuse the defence's marking schemes. Still, it was Sinclair who stepped up to save Canada in this match, and her composure burying that penalty was vital. Sinclair can't do it all herself if this team's going to make a deep run, though, and perhaps Saturday will be a needed wake-up call there.

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