Canada's World Cup Opener Against China Gives Hosts a Huge Test

On Saturday afternoon, Canada kicks off the 2015 and seventh edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. The host nation's opponent is China, and Canada faces a tough test in the tournament's curtain-raiser.

In the history of the women’s competition, only one host team—Sweden in 1995—has lost their opening game of the tournament, and nothing less than a victory in Edmonton will do for the Canucks.

Going into the game, Canada has somewhat experienced this atmosphere before. Four years ago, Canada went up against the host nation as Germany opened its campaign with a 2-1 victory in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.

Canada failed to win a single game in the group stage, and that would destroy the confidence of its football program. Fast forward to the present day, and an Olympic bronze medal in 2012 has raised the profile and the hopes higher than they have ever been before.

Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images

“Canada has expectations for the team but there is a reality there,” Coach John Herdman told Richard Laverty of The Offside Rule in a pre-tournament interview. “The team sits outside the top five teams in the world and we are going to need home support as the x-factor to push us through.”

I think one of the big strengths is that the team are ready to embrace that and not see it as a burden or curse of additional expectation or pressure.”

The avid neutral fan will hope that Herdman’s side can start the tournament with a bang. Having sold-out stadiums and enthusiastic fans at every game will provide atmosphere and colour to the rest of the tournament.

However, that does not mean that China will prove to be walkovers on Saturday.

The Forceful Roses qualified for the tournament after finishing third at the 2014 AFC Asian Women’s Cup. They lost 2-1 to Japan in the semi-finals, which needed extra time; they would then beat South Korea by the same score to confirm third place.

Coach Hao Wei has picked a very young squad to Canada—the average age of the squad is just over 23 years old, with no one picked who is older than 26. In comparison, Canada only has five players under 26 in its 23-player squad.

Back in April, China was stunned when after 10 minutes it were 2-0 down in a friendly against England. It looked ominous, and the game threatened to run away from the visitors.

Chris Brunskill/Getty Images

Days earlier, China had beaten England in a match behind closed doors. It may not have been the strongest Lioness side, but the win should have given the Asian team confidence.

After the initial problems, China managed to regain composure and began to boss the game at Manchester City’s Academy Stadium. Diagonal long balls looking for lone striker Wang Shanshan caused Mark Sampson’s defence a number of problems.

Not every ball was won in the air, but China worked hard to win the second balls and showed it could play with control, discipline and a desire to close down the opposition.

After pulling a goal back, it quite often looked like an equaliser was closer than a third England goal. It was testament to Hao’s team and its mentality, something Canada needs to be wary of Saturday.

China will hope to have learned a lesson from England’s quick start, and the longer it can keep the opening game tight, the more frustrated the capacity crowd will grow.

With memories of four years ago still on the Canadian consciousness, the threat of an opening-day upset could likely cause some nerves.

You only have to look to the men’s game, when Cameroon shocked Argentina in 1990 and Senegal upset defending champion France in 2002, to see that opening games of a World Cup can be unpredictable.

Canada winning on Saturday would be the ideal start for the tournament. The match kicks off a month of football with fireworks and home-nation interest. Yet, proceed with caution and underestimate China at your peril.