The Canadian women’s team reached the knockout stage of the Concacaf Gold Cup W without having to switch to second gear.
Canada has won two in two games after a decisive 4-0 victory over Paraguay on Sunday at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston. The victory was the Olympic champion’s second complete clean sheet after beating El Salvador 5-0 in the tournament opener earlier this week.
Coach Bev Priestman made major changes to his starting lineup for the competition in El Salvador, including goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan, defender Vanessa Gilles, midfielder Ashley Lawrence and forwards Deanne Rose and Olivia Smith in their first starts of the competition.
But the changes have not slowed Canada down at all. The Canadians, ranked 10th in the world rankings, beat Paraguay 24-2 (12-1 on penalties) and had 65% possession in the first-ever clash of Nations.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
Adriana Leon goes wild with a hat-trick for Canada
Adriana Leon continues to have a hot hand for Canada at the Gold Cup, as she now leads the tournament with five goals.
The veteran striker took a double and scored an assist in the victory over El Salvador, followed by a hat-trick against Paraguay. Leon’s three-goal attempt was her biggest rude escape for Canada since scoring four times in an 11-0 win over St. Kitts and Nevis in an Olympic qualifying game in January. 29, 2020.
Leon, a 31-year-old man from Mississauga, Ont., has now scored 36 goals in 107 appearances and is tied with current teammate Janine Beckie as Canada’s fourth all-time top scorer.
Leon’s three goals were different because she showed the different sides of her rude profile. She broke the deadlock in the 25th Minute with an exquisite volley from close range when the ball fell to her by chance after a sloppy release by a Paraguayan defender.
Her second goal at 3-0 in the 49th Minute was an example of being in the right place at the right time when she deflected a Paraguayan defender from the sixteenth on a cross from teammate Clarissa Larisey. She scored her third 57th Minute after a sequence of Tic-Tac-Toe passes with Larisey and Ashley Lawrence when she fired a shot into the roof of the net after a nice run into the penalty area.
Usually a full-back, Lawrence was used as a midfielder against Paraguay Higher up the pitch. She actually bonded with Leon and provided him with quality Service throughout the match
“I have to say that the right side Of Ashley Lawrence and Adriana Leon, I thought It was really dynamic in terms of Ashley coming into the midfield,” Coach Bev Priestman offered.
Patience pays off for Canadians against pesky Paraguayans
It only took Canada three minutes to open the scoring against El Salvador, and it was 3-0 in the first 30 minutes.
The Canadians had a little more trouble against Paraguay, as Leon’s opening goal did not fall until the 25th Minute and the Reds scored only a second goal just before halftime.
Paraguay finished fourth at the 2022 Copa America Femenina and fifth at the 2023 Pan American Games. as a result, the South Americans entered the Gold Cup with a little momentum and gained a reputation for being a strong defensive team that likes to lean back against their opponents.
The Paraguayans defended deeply and in numbers against Canada by placing as many bodies as possible behind the ball when they were not in possession. Their grumpy defensive tactics, combined with their body play, frustrated the Canadians for the first 20 minutes or so while they were looking for the first goal of the game.
But rather than losing focus, Canada remained patient and continued to ask Paraguay questions with its sharp passing sequences, exploratory ball passes and sometimes more direct modes of strike, especially in the second half.
“When I explored Paraguay, I knew they were going to be a hard team to beat. Going into it, I knew that they were defending with a chain of four, and sometimes tonight it was a chain of six, sometimes a chain of seven. So we had to adjust some things tactically. It is bordering on the impossibility of entering. … It was a really hard block to break,” Priestman acknowledged.
She after added: “we adapted very quickly in the game once we saw those six. How can we get around this and it has started to unlock some things.”
A Trio of young Canadians contribute to the cause
Leon will make headlines thanks to his three-goal performance against Paraguay. But the veteran striker was helped by a trio of youngsters who helped Canada to victory over Paraguay and a place in the quarter-finals.
Olivia Smith, only 19, came off the bench in the second half against El Salvador and scored her first international goal and collected her first assist in her fifth appearance for Canada. Priestman was so impressed by the young striker who plays professionally for the Portuguese Sporting Club that she gave Smith her first start on Sunday.
The native of Whitby, have., rewarded his coach’s confidence by scoring Canada’s second goal of the competition in the 39th Minute. The youngster showed great composure by pouncing on a rebound in the penalty area, then avoiding a defender before running past goalkeeper Cristina Recalde at the short post.
Central defender Jade Rose, 21, was involved in smith’s goal. It was her slide rule pass that cut through Paraguay’s defense and spilled teammate Deanne Rose down the right side before forcing Recalde to give up a rebound on her angled shot that led to Smith’s goal.
The defender’s distribution was impeccable all night and she played a key role in helping Canada keep the clean sheet. Rose has not yet managed to become a professional — she is still at school at Harvard University – and she has only 15 caps on her account. But she plays with a level of maturity well beyond her years, and the reassuring presence she offered Canada that night was a natural throughout her fledgling international career.
Midfielder Simi Awujo, 20, is also still in school at the University of Southern California. In her 10th appearance for Canada, she came off the bench early in the second half and helped Canada maintain its dominance in central midfield.
In the last minutes, Awujo collected a pass from substitute Clarissa Larisey and she lowered her head as she entered the pits to draw a foul and win a penalty in Canada. Captain Jessie Fleming couldn’t convert it, but Awujo is to be commended for creating a scoring opportunity out of nowhere.
“The three players [Smith, Rose and Awujo] have a super exciting future in this team. They’re very much a part of this team and they act like they’re a part of this team,” Priestman said.