Featured image credit: Liondartois (CC BY 4.0)
In recent months the Women’s World Cup has come under scrutiny for its qualifying rounds, with two of the last three Lionesses’ matches ending in heavily lopsided score lines (10-0 and 20-0 against Latvia). Even against better funded teams Austria and Northern Ireland, England’s squad haven’t been too heavily tested since the 2020 SheBelieves Cup, though many of the players went to the 2020 Olympics with Team GB where they bowed out in the quarter-finals to Australia.
Indeed, the Lionesses’ first true test since 2020 will come in the form of Olympic gold medallists Canada in the second match of the inaugural Arnold Clark Cup. Canada beat Brazil, the US and Sweden in the knockout stages to win their first major international title in Tokyo last year, largely through defensive might and nerves of steel in two penalty shoot-outs. Though (thankfully) there will be no penalty shoot-outs in this round robin invitational tournament, the three European teams (England, Spain and Germany) will want to prove themselves ahead of this summer’s Euros, while Canada will appreciate the match play ahead of the CONCACAF Women’s Championship.
The Canadian backline of Vanessa Gilles, Kadeisha Buchanan, Desiree Scott and Ashley Lawrence will provide a great test for the wealth of attacking talent in the Lionesses squad, with the likes of Beth Mead, Lauren Hemp, Ellen White, Fran Kirby, Ella Toone and Alessia Russo all having been called up by head coach Sarina Wiegman. At the Olympics the Canadians employed a well-drilled diamond formation to boost their defensive capability: a tactical challenge for the England squad. Key to controlling that Canadian midfield is Quinn, who also happens to be the first transgender and non-binary person to win an Olympic gold medal. Their consistency, calmness and confidence in a midfield role, having previously been played at centre-back, bears similarity to the Lionesses’ Leah Williamson – that ability to progress the ball through the midfield as well as collect the ball defensively may mean they both provide key roles in this match.
The Canadians also have star attacking talent, three of whom play in the WSL. Jessie Fleming has been fantastic for Chelsea this season, having made a name for herself as a goal scorer even as she plays on a team with the likes of Pernille Harder, Fran Kirby and Sam Kerr. In December, Deanne Rose scored for Reading in the fourth minute against Chelsea, in a shock defeat for last season’s league winners, while Janine Beckie is likely to be matched against Manchester City teammate Lucy Bronze on the left wing.
This match, with world-class players on both sides, may come down to a test of mentality and team cohesion. Canadian head coach Bev Priestman has brought a special sense of belief to the Canadian team since she was appointed in 2020, which the Olympic win will have further solidified. England may need some more match play under their belts to settle under a new head coach after a long spell without regular international high-level competition. However, Canada are missing all-time record international goal scorer Christine Sinclair, and goalkeeper Stephanie Labbé hasn’t been called up ahead of her retirement at the end of the 2022 season, so I wouldn’t call this one for either side quite yet.
Kick off is at 7:30PM on the 17th February, and is available to watch on ITV.