After a frustrating scoreless draw with Nigeria, Canada now turns its attention to a well-drilled Irish side at the Women's World Cup.
Ranked 22nd in the world, tournament debutante Ireland is coming off a 1-0 loss to Australia. But the 10th-ranked Matildas had to work hard, needing a 52nd-minute penalty to get past Ireland in their Group B opener in Sydney.
Canada could not match that breakthrough against 40th-ranked Nigeria, despite dominating play for chunks of the game. And Nigerian goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie produced a world-class save to deny Canada captain Christine Snclair's spot kick in the 50th minute. Nichelle Prince, Deanne Rose and Jayde Riviere came to the tournament with little or no playing time due to injuries. Influential midfielder Jessie Fleming watched from the bench Friday as Priestman opted not to exacerbate an undisclosed injury, in the hope she would be ready down the line.
The Canadians also endured penalty kick heartbreak at the 2019 World Cup in France when Sinclair yielded the ball to Janine Beckie in the round of 16 against Sweden. Beckie was stopped by goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl — who had saved a Sinclair penalty earlier that year in the third-place game at the Algarve Cup — and Sweden went on to win 1-0.
Going into the tournament, Canada had scored just three goals and had been outscored 7-3 in its four previous outings in 2023. Three of those games came at the SheBelieves Cup in February when the team's attention was split amidst a threat of downing tools due to the labour unrest.
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