Music: {allcanada} France deals Canada devastating blow

Thursday, June 30, 2011

{allcanada} France deals Canada devastating blow

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Canada's World Cup run has all but come to an end.

Gaetane Thiney scored twice, while Camille Abily and Elodie Thomis added one apiece as No. 7 France routed Canada 4-0 on Thursday in their second game of the group stage, a shocking loss for the sixth-ranked Canadians who had come into this tournament with huge hopes.

Combined with their 2-1 loss to Germany in the tournament opener — the game that left team captain Christine Sinclair with a broken nose — the Canadians' only hope of advancing out of the group stage would be a massive upset by Nigeria over two-time defending champion Germany in Thursday's second Group A game.

Canada looked flustered and disorganized nearly from the outset in front of 16,591 fans, and paid the price in the 24th minute. Sophie Schmidt was unable to clear the ball, leaving Elise Bussaglia to take a shot which deflected off Emily Zurrer and Candace Chapman and popped up in the air. Thiney headed it past Canada's 'keeper Erin McLeod from the edge of the six-yard box.

Thiney doubled France's lead in the 59th, her shot banging off the post and into the net after a bad clearance by Zurrer.

Abily's goal came off a French corner kick in the 65th minute. The French striker got away from Desiree Scott, a second-half sub, to connect on a long header.

Thomis made the loss that much uglier in the 81st minute, slipping through Canada's backline — which had been suspect all night, as it had the Canadians' loss to Germany — to chip an easy shot past McLeod.

Sinclair's status was in doubt up until almost game time, but the 28-year-old from Burnaby, B.C., who scored Canada's lone goal against Germany, started -- wearing a protective face mask that is part Catwoman, part Gladiator.

Sinclair looked out of sorts at times, at one point uncharacteristically chipping the ball out of bounds. She had her first shot of the game in the 40th minute, from about 25 yards out, but fired it well wide of the net.

Sinclair briefly came out of the game in the 80th minute after taking a ball directly in the face.

The Canadians had huge hopes for World Cup, arriving in Germany with a 10-1-3 record in the team's last 14 matches, and having spent the better part of four months together in Rome, honing the new playing style that their Italian head coach Carolina Morace has been trying to implement.

But it was Les Bleus that played the fluid, passing and moving ball possession style that Morace wants to see Thursday -- partly due to the fact France has 10 members that play together year-round with Olympique Lyon, which won the women's Champions League title this season.

The Canadians played a scattered helter-skelter game, their only decent chances coming in the 15th minute, when Diana Matheson lost possession of the ball during a break on net after a nice passing play, and the in the 39th when a shot by Matheson soared just wide of the net.

France has been on the rise up the FIFA rankings the past couple of seasons, and had occupied a spot above Canada until March, when the Canadians were slotted at their all-time high of sixth.

France came in with the best record of the four Group A teams over the last 18 months, losing just once to the Netherlands.

The 20,452-seat Ruhrstadion, normally home to German pro side VfL Bochum 1848, was dotted with dozens of Canadian flags, and fans periodically broke into chants of "Go Canada!"

Canada's best World Cup finish was fourth in 2003. They were bounced from the tournament in the opening round four years ago in China.

France had edged Nigeria 1-0 in its opening game.

Canada is host of the next World Cup in 2015.