This week in women's football, we review the Sweden-U.S. Friendly and Canada's two game set against Costa Rica, along with a look at Canada's EXCELeration development program strategy and results thus far.
U.S. defeats Sweden on Rose Lavelle's goal.
The U.S. defeated Sweden 1-0 on June 8 in Gothenburg in its first of two matches in Scandinavia. Boston Breakers rookie Rose Lavelle scored the winner in the 56th minute on a sharp pass from Chelsea's Crystal Dunn, who was heading towards goal down the middle of the field before passing to Lavelle on her right side. Lavelle scored her second goal in five internationals, with both goals coming in consecutive games. Chicago Red Stars goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher made a huge save on Manchester City's Kosovare Asllani—who once played for the Red Stars in Women's Professional Soccer (WPS)—by tipping a shot headed for the upper corner onto the crossbar and then out of bounds in the last five minutes. Sweden started the game in vibrant attacking form; a departure from their defensive approach in last year's Rio Olympic Games, where they won the Silver Medal while knocking the Americans out of the tournament in the quarterfinals. Sweden finished with a 13-7 Shots advantage versus the Americans, though trailing slightly for Shots on Goal (3-4). The Americans now lead the series with a 21-11-6 (W-D-L) record against the Swedes, and improved to 5-5-3 since 2010.
Lineups:
USA : 1-Alyssa Naeher; 5-Kelley O'Hara (8-Julie Ertz, 84), 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 14-Casey Short, 7-Meghan Klingenberg (6-Abby Dahlkemper, 46); 16-Rose Lavelle (15-Megan Rapinoe, 90+2), 20-Allie Long, 3-Sam Mewis, 22-Mallory Pugh; 10-Carli Lloyd (capt.) 9-Lindsey Horan, 46), 19-Crystal Dunn (23-Christen Press, 75)
Subs not used: 2-Sydney Leroux, 18-Abby Smith
Head Coach: Jill Ellis
SWE: 12-Hilda Carlén; 15-Jessica Samuelsson, 3-Linda Sembrant, 5-Nilla Fischer (6-Magdalena Eriksson, 75), 2-Joanna Andersson; 9-Kosovare Asllani, 7-Lisa Dahlkvist (11-Stina Blackstenius, 87), 17-Carolina Seger, 22-Olivia Schough 10-Julia Spetsmark, 63); 18-Fridolina Rolfö (20-Mimi Larsson, 46), 8-Lotta Schlein (capt.)
Subsnot used: 1-Hedvig Lindahl, 4-Emma Berglund, 14-Hanna Folkesson, 16-Hanna Glas, 19-Pauline Hammarlund, 21-Emelie Lundberg, 24-Josefin Johansson, 25-Petra Andersson
Head Coach:Pia Sundhage
Sweden's squad against the U.S. included two based in England—goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl of Chelsea and forward Kosovare Asllani of Manchester City—two in Germany and three in France, with the other 21 playing with Swedish Damallsvenskan sides.
Sweden Women's National Team Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (3): 12-Hilda Carlén (Piteå IF), 1-Hedvig Lindahl (Chelsea FC, ENG), 21-Emelie Lundberg (Eskilstuna United DFF)
DEFENDERS (8): 2-Joanna Andersson (Linköpings FC), 4-Emma Berglund (FC Rosengård), 13-Nathalie Björn (Eskilstuna United DFF), 6-Magdalena Eriksson (Linköpings FC), 5-Nilla Fischer (VfL Wolfsburg, GER), 16-Hanna Glas (Eskilstuna United DFF), 15-Jessica Samuelsson (Linköpings FC), 3-Linda Sembrant (Montpellier Hérault SC)
MIDFIELDERS (11): 27-Tove Almqvist (Linköpings FC), 26-Fanny Andersson (KIF Örebro DDF), 7-Lisa Dahlkvist (KIF Örebro DFF), 10-Lina Hurtig (Liköpings FC), 24-Josefin Johansson (Piteå IF), 22-Olivia Schough (Eskilstuna United DFF), 23-Elin Rubensson (Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC), 17-Carolina Seger (Olympique Lyonnais, FRA), 25-Petra Andersson (Eskilstuna United DFF), 10-Julia Spetsmark (KIF Örebro DFF), 14-Hanna Folkesson (FC Rosengard),
FORWARDS (6): 9-Kosovare Asllani (Manchester City FC, ENG), 11-Stina Blackstenius (Montpellier FC, FRA), 19-Pauline Hammarlund (Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC), 20-Mimi Larsson (Eskilstuna United DFF), 18-Fridolina Rolfö (FC Bayern Munich, GER), 8-Lotta Schlein (FC Rosengård)
Canada defeats Costa Rica 3-1 in Winnipeg and 6-0 in Toronto
Canada's Women's National Team defeated Costa Rico in Winnipeg on June 8 in front of 14,434 fans, the first of a two game home series against the rapidly improving CONCACAF side. Jessie Fleming (UCLA), Christine Sinclair (Portland Thorns) and Adriana Leon (Boston Breakers) scored for the Maple Leafs. Canadian National Team Head Coach John Herdman said: "I am pretty happy with the performance and we will have to do it again in Toronto. It was a great start for Canada with Jessie Fleming's goal [in the third minute]. We started exactly how we wanted with an early goal to take the nerves off. I thought we settled in nicely in the first half and we controlled the game." Sinclair doubled the lead from the penalty spot in the 52nd minute before Costa Rican defender Diana Saenz (who played at the University of South Florida) pulled one back in the 56th minute. Canada took over control of the game in the final twenty minutes, with Leon's injury time goal sealing the win.
In the second match on June 11 in Toronto's BMO Field in front of 20,628 fans, Canada rolled over Costa Rica 6-0, with Janine Beckie (Houston Dash) scoring a first half hat trick, with Jordyn Huitema (Vancouver Whitecaps Youth Academy) adding a brace in the second half and Deanne Rose (Scarborough United) scoring the opening goal in the second minute. Herdman said: "That's nine goals over two games, so we are really happy. We also had a clean sheet, so those are all the things that you look for as a coach through a game. We put in a structure in the last four years to ensure that the right players are coming through at the right times. This is an exciting group; it is one of the youngest teams in the world at this point and sitting in the top five so we have a great future ahead." All three goal scorers were 22 years of age or younger.
Canada's EXCELeration Camp Assists in National Team Player Development—Both Short and Long Term
Ahead of the friendly series, Canada Soccer held a seven day EXCELeration camp in Burnaby, B.C. for 13 players. Canada Soccer's EXCELeration programme provides opportunities for a small group of targeted players to receive individualized training and development. For some, it is about conducting a thorough assessment of their current abilities and readiness to gain selection for the Costa Rica friendly matches and for others, it's about accelerating their tactical and positional knowledge around the women's national team playing models, while benefiting from additional time in the National Team camp environment.
Canadian National Team Head Coach John Herdman said: "As we look ahead to our qualifying campaigns for both the FIFA Women's World Cup and 2020 Olympics, our EXCELeration programme will be a critical factor in our success….The EXCELeration strategy was designed to support the squad transition from the 2012 London Olympics to RIO 2016, a period that would see a high turnover of senior players and a reliance on our young talent pool. Many of our current National Team players have benefited from this targeted development approach, which helps young players quickly bridge the gap between youth and senior international soccer. The programme hones in on their specific development needs in relation to the Women's International Standards and provides a level of support that many other countries are unable to provide for their targeted future players. This has been an 'x-factor' for Canada as evidenced with the success of our current crop of young stars, and will continue to be as we look ahead to 2019 and 2020."
Canada Soccer's EXCELeration programme has already produced nine Women's National Team players and Olympic bronze medalists: Kadeisha Buchanan (Olympique Lyon), Ashley Lawrence (Paris St. Germain), Jessie Fleming (UCLA), Rebecca Quinn (Duke University), Janine Beckie (Houston Dash), Shelina Zadorsky (Washington Spirit), Nichelle Prince (Houston Dash), Deanne Rose (GS Scarborough United), and Gabrielle Carle (Quebec Dynamo).
Of the 13 players invited into the Women's National Team EXCELeration camp (see below), 11 have come up through Canada's EXCEL program, while 27-year-old Shannon Woeller and 25-year-old Tiffany Cameron have returned to camp after playing professionally in Germany. Cameron, a Toronto native, went to Ohio State University and then played with Seattle Reign and FC Kansas City during the first year of the NWSL in 2013; since that season she has been exclusively with clubs abroad in Germany, Cyprus and Israel. In Israel, she won a league title with Ramat HaSharon, leading the league in scoring with 38 goals in 24 matches. Woeller has 17 caps but only one brief appearance since 2012 with the national side. Herdman explained about bringing Woeller into the Burnaby camp: "Shannon's one of those good stories where we've asked her to go and let her career tell the story. She was playing in Iceland, Norway, and now she's broken into the top level of German football and done well there with Jena, getting consistent game time, some good results and has a contract to go back there again." Herdman has in the past told this reporter that he feels that Germany and Sweden have the best leagues in Europe, with France, England and Norway in the next tier. The fact that Woeller and Cameron are playing regularly in Germany—along with National Team midfield fixture Sophie Schmidt of Frankfurt—is a good sign for his program.
EXCELeration Camp Roster (alphabetical by last name)
Maya Antoine, age 16, from Vaughan, ON/ Vaughan Soccer Club
Tiffany Cameron, age 25, from Mississauga, ON/ Borussia Mönchengladbach (Bundesliga)
Gabrielle Carle, age 18, from Lévis, QC/ CS Lévis-Est & Québec Soccer REX
Jordyn Huitema, age 15, from Chilliwack, BC/ Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite BC Soccer REX
Kennedy Faulknor, age 17, from Scarborough, ON/ Unionville-Milliken SC
Alex Lamontagne, 20, Syracuse University, from Whitby, ON/ Durham United FC
Marie Levasseur, age 20, from Stoneham, QC/ University of Memphis (NCAA)
Lysianne Proulx, age 18, from Boucherville, QC/ Syracuse University (NCAA)
Lauren Raimondo, 18, Unionville-Milliken SC, from Niagara Falls, ON
Deanne Rose, age 18, from Alliston, ON/ Scarborough GS United
Sarah Stratigakis, age 18, from Woodbridge, ON/ Aurora United FC (League1 Ontario)
Hannah Taylor, age 17, from Edmonds, WA/ Eastside FC
Shannon Woeller, age 27, from Vancouver, BC/ FF USV Jena (Bundesliga)
Note: Huitema, Rose, and Woeller were added to Canada's WNT roster for the games against Costa Rica in Winnipeg and Toronto. This program shows the commitment of Canada Soccer to their continual player development, not just for their younger age group national team prospects, but also for experienced players, such as the post-college players Cameron and Woeller. Canada, a relatively small country in terms of a base of players that they can draw from, has become an international leader for women's player development standards. As a result, head coach John Herdman, a native of Newcastle, has led them to two Olympic Bronze Medals in 2012 and 2016, and is positioning his side for more success at the 2019 World Cup in France and 2020 Olympic Games in Japan.
Tim Graineyis a contributor to Tribal Football. His latest book Beyond Bend it Like Beckham on the global game of women's football. Get your copy today.
Follow Tim on Twitter: @TimGrainey
