Kadeisha Buchanan was one of Canada’s standouts and could live up to John Herdman’s prediction that she will become the Christine Sinclair of defenders.
VANCOUVER—Canada faced high expectations going into this summer’s Women’s World Cup, internally and externally. But without every single player at their best, the Canucks couldn’t progress past England in the quarter-finals here Saturday.
Here is a look at who passed, and who didn’t:
Josee Belanger
The 29-year-old stepped up wherever needed, both up front and at fullback. She was one of the Canadians’ most potent attackers on a team that desperately needed goals.
Grade: A
Kadeisha Buchanan
The country’s standout player at the heart of the Canadian defence, even through a painful abdomen injury. Herdman’s prediction that she will become the Christine Sinclair of defenders could very well come true.
Grade: A
Allysha Chapman
The left back worked doggedly throughout the tournament, but her rookie status showed when she gave up the penalty against New Zealand and didn’t get between Lucy Bronze and the net on England’s second goal.
Grade: B+
Jonelle Filigno
Filigno featured in three matches, 145 minutes, but only managed to get one attempt on target. Her build-up play was also unremarkable; it’s no surprise Belanger, Melissa Tancredi and Adriana Leon were preferred.
Grade: C+
Jessie Fleming
Seventeen-year-old Fleming was left on the bench in the latter stages of the tournament, but her appearances in the group stages, however short, infused vision into the centre of Canada’s midfield.
Grade: B+
Kaylyn Kyle
Kyle’s job, switching off with Desiree Scott when Canada needed an attacking boost in midfield, wasn’t easy. She did it well, but was lucky a couple of defensive slip-ups weren’t costly.
Grade: B
Ashley Lawrence
Perhaps surprisingly, Lawrence was a dominant force in Canada’s midfield. Her goal versus Netherlands was crucial and a well-worked shot led to Christine Sinclair’s rebound goal versus England. She’s one to watch.
Grade: A-
Adriana Leon
The King City native merited more playing time. Leon had success driving into the box, with or without the ball, once earning Canada a penalty. The Canadians could have used her grit up front more often.
Grade: B+
Diana Matheson
Coming off injury, Matheson looked sharp and quick when she debuted in the second half against England. Herdman should have brought her on earlier; her ability to connect with Christine Sinclair was missed.
Grade: A-
Erin McLeod
McLeod was the second of Canada’s standouts this tournament. She couldn’t have stopped any of the goals she let in, and she came up big in a least one crucial moment in nearly every game.
Grade: A
Carmelina Moscato
Veteran Moscato brought cohesion to the defecse that the backline lacked while Sesselmann was at centre back, but she’ll want a couple shifty clearances back from her two appearances.
Grade: B
Marie-Eve Nault
Nault was solid replacing Wilkinson, but only did so for two minutes at the end of the Switzerland round of 16 match.
Grade: Incomplete
Sophie Schmidt
Herdman had suggested this could be the tournament Schmidt arrived as one of the world’s best midfielders. She didn’t reach such heights, especially with injury, but remained Canada’s go-to player in the middle of the park.
Grade: B+
Desiree Scott
Scott’s “Destroyer” persona came through in fits and spurts — she had a very strong match against Switzerland’s Ramona Bachman and Lara Dickenmaan — but she lacked her normal consistency.
Grade: B
Lauren Sesselmann
Sesselmann had so many howlers you wonder why she was featured so heavily, if at all. Coming back after a year off with an ACL injury, this grade is as much for Herdman for selecting her.
Grade: D
Christine Sinclair
Sinclair looked like her old self against England. While this won’t go down as her most memorable tournament, at 32 years old she still remains one of the most talented Canadians, especially in front of net.
Grade: B+
Melissa Tancredi
Give credit to Tancredi for getting into good spaces, but her repeated inability to convert clear chances when her team was in dire need makes this a disappointing tournament for the striker.
Grade: C
Rhian Wilkinson
Canada was desperate for quality crosses into the box in the first stages of the tournament and Wilkinson delivered. She’ll want back nine or so minutes and couple of positional mistakes she made against the Dutch, though.
Grade: B
Canada's Lauren Sesselmann answers World Cup critics with epic Instagram rant
Canada's Lauren Sesselmann answers World Cup critics with epic Instagram rant
Embattled Canadian centre back Lauren Sesselmann admitted what we already knew.
“I slipped,” Sesselmann posted to Instagram early Monday morning as part of a lengthy post-World Cup manifesto.
She seemingly exhaled after holding her breath for more than 24 hours.
“Yes they scored,” she continued, referencing her own catastrophic mistake that led to England’s opener in a quarterfinal loss in Vancouver on Saturday. “You can blame me all you want.”
That’s certainly been the case since Canada had its dreams of a semifinal berth washed away.
They made their country proud while failing to qualify for a very reachable semifinal stage.
Sesselmann, meanwhile, wasn’t completely to blame. She was, however, the so-called “goat” on a decisive early play — one that changed the entire complexion of the game. It’s why she’s been the subject of scrutiny throughout World Cup play. Those critics finally broke the 31-year-old American-born defender Monday.
She called her critics “classless” and referenced “threats” against her. Then she went on the defensive.
“You can sit there and choose to focus on every negative and pick apart our team BUT you have NO IDEA how much passion, heart and hard work this team puts in,” she said. “No matter what any of you say I am so damn proud to wear this jersey and so damn proud of what we have accomplished and how hard we fought.”
Nobody can ever take any of that away. To be clear, though, not a single pundit throughout the last three weeks has questioned how desperate and passionate this Team Canada played.
They questioned whether Sesselmann — along with a few others — had the right qualities in certain moments of the game.
She didn’t, obviously, which is 100% fair to point out in the aftermath.
Whether her remarks were thin-skinned we simply can’t say. We don’t know the context for which they were written.
But the fact what was written is being analyzed the next day is certainly a step in the right direction for the women’s game. Four years ago — prior to Canada’s bronze medal at London 2012 — that wouldn’t have been the case.
The masses wouldn’t have cared how or why Canada exited at the quarterfinal stage.
“We aren’t perfect and yes we ALL made mistakes, every great athlete makes mistakes,” Sesselmann said matter-of-factually. “YOU even make mistakes..it’s part of life...but it’s how you respond that matters, and we never stopped fighting. And I can promise you all this...WE WILL be back and WE WILL be better.”
Nobody is perfect, is what she was attempting to say.
But certain levels of criticism are thrust upon those who put themselves on this big of a stage.
When you’re good, you’re good. You’re showered with praise.
Alternatively, the opposite is a potential consequence when competing in sport at the highest-possible level.
It’s part of the burden that comes with being paid significant sums of money — relatively speaking — to be a high-profile entertainer that the rest of us commoners sit and analyze in ways that can sometimes be offensive.
“This truly will be a journey I will never forget,” Sesselmann finished.
She shouldn’t. Like her teammates, she reached a level only a small percentage of high-performance athletes get to.
It’s a level that can also bring overwhelming sums of scrutiny.
How you deal with that criticism is how you’re remembered.
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