Canada Looking To ‘Improve And Inspire’ Against Brazil In Halifax
By After losing a 1-0 contest on Saturday afternoon in Montreal, the team hopped on a plane and headed east to Halifax for the second game on Tuesday night at Wanderers Ground.
“I love it,” Priestman responded earlier on Monday afternoon at the MD-1 press conference when asked about her time in Halifax.
“I have been here before and it seems like a lovely place to live, honestly.”
I asked Priestman about what she is expecting tomorrow in a smaller, more intimate stadium that only has a capacity of 6,500. It’s a venue that sold out in 20 minutes flat.
“I am honestly not sure – and again with the new coach, he might try something new, but we are fixing some things that we saw in the game on Saturday and need to come out and be on the front foot.”
She also spoke about facing a challenge that Brazil presents and finding ways to overcome it.
“We need to be ready to take the game to them and it’s an unbelievable challenge which is good and I need to think about the bigger picture which is Paris 2024 and being ready for that.”
Priestman told the media to expect to see some rotation in the lineup, but again could depend on the game situation and confirmed the fans will get to see Christine Sinclair.
“It’s going to be a blend to try and get a balance and flow. We lacked that, but there will be changes.”
She was asked bluntly what she was trying to fix and she felt the team didn’t possess the ball enough.
“I feel we didn’t possess the ball enough and our flow was disrupted. That was due to us having a new shape and them playing with a new shape, they pressed us and we need to problem solve how to get on the ball more and defending well.”
Priestman confirmed that everyone is ready to go health-wise and the only issue was Jesse Fleming, who came out early on Saturday due to a headache, though she did practice and train with the group today.
Sydney Collins, who is a fresh face, on the team spoke about what she is expecting from the game on Tuesday night.
“Brazil is a good test. We have been working on partnerships and they matched our formation directly. We needed to find spaces off the ball and it’s good to learn from that.”
I asked Collins about what needs to be worked on to avoid turning the ball over due to a forced high press.
” I think we need to find our advantages on the field and find open space and the timing with players and knowing those partnerships.”
Header Image Photo Credit: Canada Soccer