Canada to make changes in CONCACAF qualifier
Posted January 21, 2012 9:40 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER — Going into Saturday’s match against Cuba, Canadian women’s team coach John Herdman has promised to wring in the changes.
Programming alert: Be sure to tune into Sportsnet to watch live coverage of every game of the 2012 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying tournament. You can also watch every game live online at sportsnet.ca. Consult our broadcast schedule HERE
After thrashing Haiti 6-0 on Thursday to open up the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying tournament, Canada’s tinkering won’t be done to improve the situation, but rather to keep his stars fresh for the more important games to come.
“Completely different,” Herdman said of what his line-up will look like Saturday.
“The important thing for us is that everyone gets a chance to play in these games, everyone gets a chance to play in front of their home nation. It’s a squad, that’s part of what we do. We’re a family and we connect through and players will get time on the pitch here. It’ll be a different team.”
A different team means there’s also a good chance captain Christine Sinclair, who scored four and set one up in Thursday’s match, could sit this one out. But the more likely bet is that the imposing forward will come off the bench for a 20- or 30-minute run out in the second half.
“I don’t necessarily need a break, but ideally we want to have our team as fresh as possible for our semi-final game,” Sinclair told sportsnet.ca following the opening match. “I trust what (Herdman) is going to do.”
The English coach’s logic makes sense given the team could play five matches over an 11-day period if Canada goes all the way to the finals.
Forward Christina Julien will miss the match after a head collision near the end of Thursday’s match, which Herdman has admitted may have been a concussion.
Another player unlikely to take part is Lauren Sesselman, as the left fullback seemed to hyperextend her knee near the end of the first half against Haiti after a collision with Samantha Brand.
Post-game show: From Jan. 19-24, log on to sportsnet.ca at 12:50 am ET each night to watch our live post-game web show, featuring a full recap and analysis of the day’s events from Sportsnet commentators in Vancouver.
Herdman has said every player in the squad will get a chance to play in this tournament, and given that statement it seems an ideal time to give Erin McLeod a chance in goal, giving starter Karina LeBlanc a night off.
Going into Saturday’s match, Canada leads Group A on goal differential, equal on points with Costa Rica, who defeated Cuba 2-0 in the early game on Thursday.
Canada will wrap up group play on Monday against Costa Rica in the late match.
