Canada looked relaxed in Wednesday morning training ahead of their first group stage game against Nigeria at the Women’s World Cup, although some players appeared to be playing at their own pace.
Midfielder Jessie Fleming essentially acted as a spectator during the morning training session, which was attended by media representatives on the pitch of a local football club. And forwards Deanne Rose and Nichelle Prince, both back from suffering Achilles injuries, trained alone under the supervision of a Team Canada therapist.
“Some players have their own agenda,” admitted Canada coach Bev Priestman, downplaying the injury problem. Today was light exercise… You saw Deanne and Nichelle do some specific exercises as part of a rehabilitation process. So, yeah, I think Jessie is fine. »
She hopes so.
Fleming is one of the most important cogs in the Canadian team and brings about many things. The 25-year-old midfielder, who plays for Chelsea, is making her third World Cup appearance and has scored 19 goals in her international career.
The Maple Leafs, ranked seventh in the world, begin their tournament on Thursday night (10:30pm Montreal time) against Nigeria at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.
Injuries have clouded Canada’s prospects for the tournament. Priestman hoped that backstory was over now.
Prince and Rose had to work hard to recover in time for the tournament. They succeeded, which was not the case for midfielder Desiree Scott, who is still plagued by health problems.
Rising star defender Jade Rose was also forced to pull out of World Cup prep camp due to injury, while striker Janine Beckie was sidelined after knee surgery in March.
In short: the Canadian team is beset by injuries. Despite all this, the atmosphere in training was good-natured.
The three goalies jumped onto the field first and stretched to the sound of FashionMadonna and S club party from the S Club 7.
“We’re really looking forward to getting started,” admitted Kailen Sheridan, Canada’s first-choice goalkeeper. We’ve been here for a few weeks. We can all feel the excitement building… We’ve enjoyed our stay so far, but nothing replaces a World Cup game. »
Priestman smiled as he met members of the media. “We’re here and we can’t wait to get started,” she said. We made sure we have fresh players ready to play. I’ve talked a lot with my players about this, specifically the importance of having energy for the elimination rounds. And everything we’ve done so far has been in that direction. »
“You can see how much fun the girls have together and I think this team achieves its full potential when it’s fun,” added Priestman.
Canada’s journey in Group B gets a little more difficult with every game. After Nigeria, the Canadians meet Ireland (22e) and Australia (10e).
The top two teams in this group will advance to the next round and the group winner will in all likelihood have a clash with England (4the), reigning European champions, in the round of 16 of the tournament.
To see in the video
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