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Next month, the pressure of performing well on home soil is being entrusted to the youngest squad that Canada has ever sent to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
Despite their age, their talent and experience are apparent from the official 21-player roster, which was announced Wednesday morning.
“Although we’re bringing a young team to the tournament, it’s only because they’re the most talented players in our country,” said head coach Andrew Olivieri.
Six players have been capped at the senior level: Kadeisha Buchanan, Jessie Fleming, Ashley Lawrence, Nichelle Prince, Rebecca Quinn and Sura Yekka. Buchanan in particular has become a staple of John Herdman’s defense, playing a full 90 minutes in 16 of 22 matches since her senior debut in January 2013 against China.
“It’s the calibre that they play at,” Quinn said of her learning experiences with the CanWNT that’s benefitted her game. “And it’s their style of play during every practice. Their intensity is something to really take away from them. Sometimes at the youth level, you can shy away from that.”
This is also the second World Cup in a calendar year for Fleming, Rylee Foster, Sarah Kinzner and Yekka, who finished the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Costa Rica at the quarter-finals in March. Fleming and Yekka are in a unique position of potentially representing Canada at three consecutive World Cups at three different age levels if they’re also selected for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015.
It’s not surprising that these youth players are finding a relatively smooth transition from one level to the next. This is the result of Canada’s long-term strategy.
“The key will be to maintain a consistent system from the youth all the way to our senior team,” said Olivieri, a former CanMNT and Montréal Impact goalkeeper. “That’s our biggest strategy, which allows players to come in and out of the squad - the U-17s or senior, etc. - and maintain that consistency. It’s a system working in that same direction and not just a unique team or specific team doing their best on their own.”
Captaining Canada will be defender Kinley McNicoll from Oakvillle, Ontario. The 20-year-old was part of the 2010 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship team that knocked out the USA from competing at the U-17 WWC in Trinidad and Tobago.
The burden of expectations are magnified by the success of Canada’s inaugural U-19 WWC team in 2002 that finished in second place. That tournament introduced the likes of Kara Lang, Erin McLeod, Christine Sinclair and many others to the Canadian public. Such players have become key components of the senior WNT in the past decade.
Canada has yet to accomplish similar results at the U-20s, failing to advance past the group stage in 12 years.
To cope with such pressures, Olivieri says, “The first step is awareness and knowing that it’ll get difficult when we encounter tough opponents, matches and moments. The team will have to come together, encourage each other and go through the tough times together.”
For Yekka, those feelings are rallying her up for the tournament, “All that pressure is kind of scary, but exciting at the same time.”
Perhaps the team will be able to enjoy some lighter moments, like Quinn’s birthday during the tournament. “We have some interesting traditions on the team,” said Quinn. “Hopefully, I’m not getting a pie in the face or something of that sort.”
The WWC presents a mixture of emotions for everyone, parents included. When asked if he got anxious during his daughter’s matches, Kevin, father of midfielder Ashley Campbell, joked, “Yeah, with all my kids because they’re involved with a number of different sports. When it’s over, I feel like I’ve played. It’s like if I’m mentally and physically exhausted as well.”
In Group A, Canada are opening the U-20 WWC against Ghana, who are making their third consecutive appearance at the tournament and looking to make it past the group stage for the first time. Finland, too, are yet to advance beyond the group; this is their second U-20 WWC. On the other hand, champions at Russia 2006 and runners-up at Chile 2008, Korea DPR are going to be a much tougher battle.
If Canada were to make the quarter-finals, they’d be facing one of the top two teams of Group B: two-time champions Germany, three-time champions USA, China or Brazil.
Preparations are continuing for Canada with a July 16-21 camp and two friendlies against Mexico in Mexico City.
The FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2014 is a 16-nation tournament taking place August 5-24 in Edmonton, Alberta; Moncton, New Brunswick; Montréal, Québec and Toronto, Ontario. Canada is playing Ghana on Tuesday, August 5 and Finland on Friday, August 8, both in Toronto, before completing their group in Montréal against Korea DPR on Tuesday, August 12.
Tickets can be purchased here.
Roster
Jersey # |
Position |
Name |
Birth year |
Hometown |
Team |
1 |
GK |
Kailen Sheridan |
1995 |
Whitby, ON, CAN |
USA |
Clemson University |
2 |
D |
Sura Yekka |
1997 |
Mississauga, ON, CAN |
CAN |
Brams United |
3 |
D |
Kinley McNicoll |
1994 |
Oakville, ON, CAN |
USA |
University of Wisconsin |
4 |
D |
Kylie Davis |
1994 |
L’Ile-Bizard, QC, CAN |
CAN |
Comètes de Laval |
5 |
D |
KadeishaBuchanan |
1995 |
Brampton, ON, CAN |
CAN |
Ottawa Fury FC |
6 |
D |
Rebecca Quinn |
1995 |
Toronto, ON, CAN |
USA |
Duke University |
7 |
M |
Ashley Campbell |
1994 |
Bradford, ON, CAN |
CAN |
Toronto Lady Lynx |
8 |
M |
Jessie Fleming |
1998 |
London, ON, CAN |
CAN |
London NorWest SC |
9 |
F |
Nichelle Prince |
1995 |
Ajax, ON, CAN |
CAN |
Toronto Lady Lynx |
10 |
M |
AshleyLawrence |
1995 |
Caledon, ON, CAN |
CAN |
Ottawa Fury FC |
11 |
F |
JanineBeckie |
1994 |
Denver, CO, USA |
USA |
Texas Tech University |
12 |
D |
Victoria Pickett |
1996 |
Barrie, ON, CAN |
CAN |
Glen Shields |
13 |
D |
Lindsay Agnew |
1995 |
Dublin, OH, USA |
USA |
Ohio State University |
14 |
M |
Vanessa Grégoire |
1996 |
Beaconsfield, QC, CAN |
CAN |
Comètes de Laval |
15 |
D |
Jordane Carvery |
1996 |
Richmond Hill, ON, CAN |
CAN |
Glen Shields |
16 |
M |
Sarah Kinzner |
1997 |
Calgary, AB, CAN |
CAN |
Calgary Foothills |
17 |
F |
Amandine Pierre-Louis |
1995 |
Laval, QC, CAN |
CAN |
Comètes de Laval |
18 |
GK |
Marie-Joëlle Vandal |
1995 |
Longeuil, QC, CAN |
CAN |
Dynamo de Québec |
19 |
F |
Valérie Sanderson |
1995 |
Deux-Montagnes, QC, CAN |
CAN |
Comètes de Laval |
20 |
M |
Emma Fletcher |
1995 |
Victoria, BC, CAN |
USA |
Louisiana State University |
21 |
GK |
Rylee Foster |
1998 |
Cambridge, ON, CAN |
CAN |
Woodbridge SC |
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