While the U.S. women’s national team hopped on a chartered plane to Nashville on Friday, a tired Canadian national team trudged through Orlando International Airport security to board a commercial Southwest flight to the same location. It was one of several stark reminders that Canada is a team operating with less: less money, less time, less staff.
The USWNT defeated the reigning Olympic champions 2-0 Thursday at Exploria stadium. Though Canada hung in its first game of SheBelieves Cup with admirable tenacity, the off-field fights took a toll on players. During a pregame practice, there was a visible difference in the number of people on the field for the U.S. and for Canada – with Canadian players, as usual, helping haul in their equipment afterward.
“In many ways you think that your players are superhuman, and they’re not,” Canada coach Bev Priestman said after the rough-and-tumble loss. “I felt, for what was in front of me, frustrated on the sidelines, of course. We started flat and I think it’s a result of the emotional and the training days lost. You add all those things up, they definitely play into it.”
Canadian players lost training days last week because they attempted to go on strike against their employer, Canada Soccer, over a multitude of issues,…
