Canada Set to Face the Heat Against England in Quarter-Final Challenge

The last of the four Women's World Cup quarter-finals will be played at BC Place in Vancouver on Saturday night, and it pits two British managers on the verge of bringing international success to their respective teams. John Herdman—born in County Durham, England—has the added pressure of leading the host nation toward World Cup glory.

Many football tournaments benefit from the host nation advancing to the latter stages. The success of South Korea back in 2002 made that year's FIFA World Cup a competition to remember, and if Canada can go all the way, the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup will live in the memory of fans for a very long time.

Mark Sampson’s England side stand in the way of Canada's path to the semi-finals, and the Canucks know they will have to raise their game if they are to be successful.

“England are a very good team, and I know my team loves rising to those sort of challenges. It’s going to be great,” Herdman told the Globe and Mail.

The pressure remains, “but it just feels different,” he added.

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It’s almost like you can see the summit, you can actually see it now. And the players have got an absolute focus that it’s not falling off the cliff anymore, if you know what I’m saying. You’re not looking to fall off the cliff. It’s about there it is, we’ve got to get there and you’ve got to push through that and do anything it takes to do it.

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Despite remaining undefeated so far, Canada have not overly impressed. It took a controversial 92nd-minute penalty from Christine Sinclair to beat China in the opening game, then draws against New Zealand and the Netherlands meant Herdman’s side squeezed through their group in first place.

In the round of 16, they had to wait until the second half to find a way past Switzerland. Josee Belanger’s 52nd-minute left-foot finish gave them the lead, but it was Player of the Match Erin McLeod who had to be at her best to see Canada advance.

Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

“We’ve seen performances from Canada at this tournament that didn’t resemble the Canadian team I’d seen for the previous six months,” quipped Sampson via the Toronto Sun. “This is a different Canada who have relied on some fortunate refereeing decisions. I’m not sure we’ve seen them score a really strong goal that hasn’t come from an opponent’s error or a refereeing error.”

Sampson continued, “We’re fully aware they’re under huge pressure. At the moment, they’re finding it difficult...there’s huge pressure to put even more pressure on this Canadian team. Our job is to turn up the notches on the cooker and make sure John’s players are feeling the heat.”

In front of more than 50,000 partisan Canadian fans, England will hope to stay strong defensively for the first 20 to 30 minutes, trying to add to the home crowd’s nerves. Sampson will look to play the same way that frustrated both France and Norway so that the impatient crowd has an effect on the host nation.

There is not much to choose between the teams. This match is set to be as psychological as it is tactical. Just before the tournament began, it took a stunning Sophie Schmidt strike to give Canada a narrow 1-0 victory over England.

Saturday night will likely be just as close, and it is almost certainly going to be a nervy and anxious affair. England have never progressed past the quarter-finals, and they will have to get the better of a countryman's charges to make history.