Canada was left looking for positives Friday in the wake of a scoreless draw with Nigeria in its opening match at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Coach Bev Priestman and her players found some. But it had a feel of trying to make lemonade out of lemons, especially given captain Christine Sinclair’s saved penalty in the 50th minute.
The seventh-ranked Canadians outshot No. 40 Nigeria 15-10 (3-1 in shots on target) and dominated possession in the early going, creating chances that they could not convert.
After a scoreless first half in Canada’s opening game of the Women’s World Cup, the most decorated Canadian soccer player of all time had a glorious chance to put the Red and White on the scoreboard.
Sinclair, who is playing in her sixth — yes sixth — World Cup, was taken down in the box early in the second half. After the referee initially denied her plea for a penalty, a VAR check finally awarded Canada a penalty.
No stranger to the moment, Sinclair took the ball and stepped to the spot. With 190 international goals to her name, the 40-year-old striker was looking to become the first player to score in six different World Cups.
Unfortunately for both Sinclair and Canadian soccer fans watching around the world, it wasn’t to be, as a great save from Nigerian keeper Chiamaka Nnadozie kept the game scoreless.
Canada’s regular penalty kick taker, Jessie Fleming, was not in the starting lineup due to an injury and probably would’ve been the one to take the shot if she was healthy. Fleming scored a massive equalizer from the spot in Canada’s gold medal match at the Tokyo Olympics.
