Italy v.s. Spain

So, it happened. No, not the Italy v.s. Spain final for Euro 2012, although that did happen. Spain won. 


I'm talking about the CanWNT v.s. USWNT in their last friendly before the Olympic Games in London. Today, all eyes are on Alex Morgan, the young protégé who has a FIFA World Cup under her belt, and soon to be Olympic Games.

At the other end, we've got Canadian goalkeeper Erin McLeod, starting in what is to be her comeback from the CONCACAF final, where the US put 4 goals past her.

My quick review of the game:


1. I swear, Hope Solo walking onto a soccer field is equivalent to a gladiator walking into the Roman Coliseum. She exudes fierceness, like she's ready to kill anyone that dare cross her.

2. Megan Rapinoe walks on wearing a streak of sunscreen across her face. Warpaint. It's about a million degrees in Sandy, Utah. The players are going to have to fight the heat on top of fighting one another.

3. Anthem Girl messes up the lyrics for the Canadian national anthem. I mean, I know our anthem is boring compared to yours but seriously, seriously? This is your job, Anthem Girl. You can't slack this shit.
4. The Americans look like Waldo in their striped red and white shirts, while the Canadians look like history hipsters with their Pearson Pennant inspired jerseys with the popped collars (I have never, ever thought of popped collars as sexy until I saw them on this Canadian team. I am forever ashamed).
5. Utah crowd simultaneously shouting "You suck, Canada!" Putting in so much effort on coordination and way less effort on the insult itself. As usual, America.
6. I don't now how she does it, but Megan Rapinoe creates space. She's like the big bang theory personified. She takes the game and just runs with it. And when she's in a good mood (which, let's face it, is always), she can outrun and outplay anybody.

7. Carmelina Moscato accidentally kicks the ball past McLeod, deflecting a shot from Rapinoe. I was kind of hoping that this would be like hockey and the goal would be credited to the last player of the opposing team that had contact with it....but no, that's not the case. Full credit is given to Moscato, so even though it was a US goal, Canada still got to steal their thunder somewhat.
8. Alex Morgan has a ton of chances in between, but no sauce.

9. Fouls everywhere, girls tripping each other up. Kelley O'Hara gets tackled by the Canadian captain Christine Sinclair, Lauren Sesselmann's kit actually rips, Kaylyn Kyle winds up on the ground, yellow cards are being handed out like free temporary tatttoos. Someone needs to remind them that this is a friendly and that the Olympics are around the corner and NO ONE NEED BE INJURED, PLEASE AND THANK YOU.

10. Kaylyn Kyle sneaks one dangerously close to Hope Solo after a smart play by Sinclair. It almost gets past Solo, who stops it just in time. A testament to how incredible she is.

11. Heather O'Reilly comes in for Tobin Heath. I've never been so sad to see a girl go only to be so happy to see the girl that would be replacing her.

12. Diana Matheson, the tiny Canadian midfielder, is fast as hell. She matches Desiree Scott's aggression quite well and acts as a good foil to Alex Morgan's baby horse legs.

13. Abby Wambach flies into McLeod's goal post. Once that girl gains momentum, I swear, there's nothing much out there that can stop her.

14. McLeod continues pulling out the stops, taking on the skillful Americans without fear.

15. Melissa Tancredi enters the game, replacing Brittany Timko. Almost immediately, Canada gains some distance, and Tanc scores a goal off a pass from Sinclair. Top left corner, nothing much Solo could have done to stop it. It is absolutely beautiful.

16. NBC commentators cannot pronounce Saskatoon and Saskatchewan for the life of them.


17. Alex Morgan goes down and looks hurt, everyone freaks out. Thankfully it's nothing serious. Tobin Heath tries to comfort her. It's a cute moment. Amy Rodriguez subs in for her. 

18. Sophie Schmidt gets substituted, but doesn't notice her number on the substitution board, leading to a delay of game. Since this is Schmidt we're talking about, no one really minds. The substitution board is substituted so that the numbers are a little brighter. 


19. Enter Sydney Leroux, the new golden child from Surrey, BC. Everyone wonders why she didn't get subbed in earlier. The game picks up a bit, especially on the US offence.


20. Fed by Rapinoe, Abby Wambach passes to Amy Rodriguez, who scores on Canada late in the 2nd half, making it 2-1. 

All in all, both teams put up a really good fight. Maybe a bit too much of a fight, to be honest, as there were some dangerous moments that we really shouldn't see in a friendly game, especially this close to the Olympics. Neither teams can afford to lose players. If I were to pick three stars who drove this game to the ground, it would be:

1. MEGAN RAPINOE

2. ERIN MCLEOD

3. ALEX MORGAN

*Honourary mention: Team Canada's Diana Matheson. I'm gonna call it now, that girl's gonna do amazing things at the Olympics.

Megan Rapinoe being interviewed by a journalist. I don't know how that journalist is able to keep her cool so well. If it were me, I'd probably say to fuck all hell with my job, I'm gonna seduce this girl if it's the last thing I do.

Melissa Tancredi blows a kiss to the Canadian-hating crowd as Christine Sinclair and an attached Kaylyn Kyle congratulate her. Tancredi actually planned all of this. 

Sophie Schmidt picking refreshments out of a cooler. Her west coast Canadian sensibilities are not accustomed to this heat. Her bleached hair is back, right on time for the Olympics.

Amy Rodriguez and Candace Chapman having a chat, probably confusing the crowd in the process. This was literally a friendly game. Players of opposing teams were constantly hugging and patting each other and checking one another for injuries. It was like watching monkeys picking bugs off their fellow monkeys. 

Team Canada is well on its way, which is a good sign. They just need to keep what they did in this game's second half and apply it to the entire game. This means playing less safe and getting more work done on the offence. There's no point in guarding your area obsessively if you're not going to advance your way into opponent territory and place pressure on their defence as well as their goalkeeper. It's all about confidence, and this is something we saw come out after the Tancredi goal. Team Canada need to believe that they've got it. Once they do, it'll shine through in their play.

Melissa Tancredi is clearly ready for Olympic glory.