Canada Thriving at Rio Away from the Pressure of Being World Cup Hosts

Being the host nation at an international tournament can usually go one of two ways. A home crowd can inspire, such as for the Brazil women’s team at this year's Olympic Games or South Korea during the 2002 World Cup.

However, the weight of a nation can also add too much pressure, and if things don't quite go to plan, cheers can produce nerves and affect performances—as Canada found out 12 months ago.

They were the proud hosts of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. John Herdman's team managed to squeeze out the results, reaching further than they have before, but the performances were far from memorable.

In front of a packed Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, it took a controversial late penalty to beat China 1-0 in the opening game.

Two draws—0-0 in a dull match against New Zealand and 1-1 against the Netherlands—saw them win their section with five points. That was the lowest winning total from any of the six groups.

They qualified for the quarter-finals with a 1-0 win over Switzerland, courtesy of Josee Belanger's 52nd-minute winner, but would fall to defeat when they came up against an inspired England side.

With the pressure of satisfying their home fans off their shoulders, Canada are already showing signs at the Rio Olympics that they could emulate their amazing feat of four years ago.

Canada shocked the world when they won the bronze medal at London 2012, beating France despite starting as huge underdogs. That came after they had to pick themselves off the floor following a devastating 4-3 semi-final defeat to the United States in injury time of extra-time.

The Canadians arrived in Brazil with few expecting a repeat of their London heroics, but the way they have come flying out of the blocks has perhaps changed that and made them a genuine medal contender.

It took just 19 seconds for Canada to announce themselves to the Rio Olympics, stunning Australia after pouncing on a defensive mistake.

The opening goal scored by Janine Beckie is one of those traditional feel-good Olympic stories. It wasn't too long ago that the forward was playing her way through the United States youth system. 

She was training with the under-20 side when she received a phone call from Andrew Olivieri, the head of the Canadian Soccer Association's youth setup. They were on the lookout for new talent and with Beckie's parents and three brothers having been born in Canada, she was eligible.

They invited her to train with the team and after settling in well, she was soon called up to their squad for the FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup, also hosted by Canada.

Beckie scored twice in the group stage before they were eliminated 2-0 by Germany, but she had made her mark. It wasn't enough to see Herdman call her up for the senior World Cup with Kadeisha Buchanan and Jessie Fleming, but it was clear she had a bright future in front of her.

After two games at this Olympics, Beckie now has three goals and is showing why Olivieri picked up the phone.

“She’s come on so much in the last year and a half she has spent in our programme," coach Herdman told FIFA.com. "You can see that she’s got more composure on the pitch. And she’s going to grow as the tournament goes on.”

After that quick opening goal, Canada had to weather an Aussie storm as the Matildas pushed their way back into the game.

It got much tougher for the Canadians when left-back Shelina Zadorsky was the last defender and brought down Michelle Heyman. Consequently the referee had to show her a straight red.

Once they made it to the break, the coach was able to reorganise his team, and they would add a second goal through legendary figure Christine Sinclair.

She told CanadaSoccer:

"

I think coming into half time, still up 1-0 (despite being down a player) was huge for us. Our coach just brought us all together, gave us simple tactics and a plan (on which) we had worked before. It was just staying to the basics. On the counter attacks, we knew we were faster than them up top, so it was just a matter of taking advantage of a couple of chances and we did that.

"

It would have been easy for Canada to succumb to the Australians' numerical advantage in the second half of that game, but they stayed strong and were very well-organised, deserving of the 2-0 victory.

“I’m very proud of what these young players have done today,” Herdman told FIFA.com. “In terms of our tactical discipline, we played a fantastic second half. What I thought was great today about Janine was that she showed the grit to go and play a more physical game, which is what we’ve been challenging her to do.”

A win over Zimbabwe would have been expected, especially after they lost 6-1 to Germany in their opening game, but Herdman was stressing the need for respect, and that's what his team did.

Beckie got her second of the tournament after just eight minutes, following up quickly after her first shot was saved.

Sinclair got her second from the penalty spot and then 10 minutes before half-time Beckie grabbed her third of the tournament converting a superb cross by Belanger from the right.

It was a clinical half of football and although the Mighty Warriors would come back into the game, scoring through Mavis Chirandu, it was a strong showing from the Canadians, who ran out 3-1 winners.

It was exactly the sort of performance goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe had spoken about when asked what they needed to do to win a medal.

She told FIFA.com:

"

First things first, we want to be a team that controls each game. We want to find a way to make our impact and control the game in the way we know how to control it. With that we're going to need everybody. It's a long tournament and a lot of games in a short amount of time so we're going to need the depth of our team and the squad to be able to contribute in whatever way they can. We have such a great group of girls, a great mix of youth and experience.

"

They will now go into the last group game safe in the knowledge they are through to the knockout stage, which is good, because their last match is against the much-fancied Germans.

Silvia Neid's team slipped against a spirited Australian side in their second game, having to come from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw. Anything but a defeat for Canada on Tuesday will confirm their place as group winners.

One issue would be that winning the group may not give them the easiest route toward a medal.

Topping Group F will pit you against the runner-up in Group G, most likely France. While finishing second in the section wouldn't set up a game against a group winner, but a tie against the second-placed team in Group E—which will be China or Sweden.

Both Germany and Canada would want to avoid France at this stage, while both the Chinese and Swedish sides have been far from convincing. However, to be the best at any international tournament, you need to beat the best.

One bonus of being in Group F is that they will likely avoid the USA and Brazil, who have both been very impressive, until the August 19 final.

Canada have put themselves in a great position to emulate their performance four years ago and claim an Olympic medal.

If they continue their excellent form, they may even upgrade a bronze for a shot at Olympic gold.