Canadians welcome physical challenge from Katie McCabe and Ireland in Game 2 of Women’s World Cup

It was raining in Perth on Tuesday and the forecast says it will be pouring rain again Wednesday morning ahead of Canada’s second match of the Women’s World Cup against Ireland (8 a.m. ET.) Will the weather play a factor or are other factors, such as Ireland’s physicality, more likely to affect the match? 

Ireland is ranked 22nd in the world. We know that rankings don’t always matter and we’ve just witnessed a huge upset in Group A with the Philippines (ranked No. 46) beating No. 26 New Zealand. World Cups are certainly a place for unpredictability and for new teams to forge their reputations. 

But Ireland is a different type of beast. They aren’t new to elite competition and boast some of the top players in Europe, including Katie McCabe. McCabe is a key player at North London’s Arsenal FC in the Women’s Super League. In preparing for the match, Canadian coach Bev Priestman said that McCabe is one of the players that was deeply analyzed because of her strength and skill on the pitch. 

Knowing that Ireland is a physical team and had a tough opening loss to co-hosts Australia just means that they have nothing to lose in this match. The way that Ireland plays  rough has been a huge part of the discourse ahead of Wednesday’s game.

“We know what we have to do,” Priestman said of the Irish.

Canadian forward Jordyn Huitema is ready to take on the challenge.

“I welcome physicality and I quite enjoy it as a player,” she said Tuesday in Perth. “Canada, in general, is a very aggressive physical team so I think that it’s going to be a good match up in terms of physicality.”

Defender Jayde Riviere echoed her teammate.

“A part of our Canadian DNA is to be gritty and to be that kind of team that doesn’t let people boss them around,” Riviere said. “I think we’ll be fine when we play against Ireland. Like I said, we played against Nigeria and it’s no stranger to us that physicality.” 

A win for Canada is crucial. Canada needs to come out on top to be comfortably placed in Group B. Priestman also alluded to the fact that Ireland is a technically strong team and that breaking them down will not be easy. 

As for the weather, Priestman isn’t concerned about a wet pitch.

“It will allow us to move the ball, hopefully, which is what we’ll need to do,” she said. “It doesn’t change a whole lot.”

Watch Soccer North Live Wednesday July 26th at 10:30 am ET on cbcsports.ca and the CBC Sports YouTube Channel for post-match analysis of Canada vs. Ireland with Andi Petrillo and Diana Matheson.

“For me, specifically, I grew up in ‘Raincouver’ so I’m always used to the rain,” said the B.C.-born Huitema. “I like playing in it. It doesn’t change much. I think everybody was wearing their six studs [cleats] a little bit at the beginning of training just to work them in — getting ready for [Wednesday.]”

Priestman describes Ireland as a team with “heart, spirit and passion” and they have a massive group of supporters that also have those same qualities. 

The Irish community that resides in Perth is robust. A local journalist told me that the Perth Rectangular Stadium (capacity 20,500) is sold out and between 80-90 per cent of the fans will be Irish. In the last 15 years, thousands of Irish have moved to Western Australia. There are Facebook groups, community centres and even an organization that helps Irish people who need social service supports. 

The Irish Heritage group’s website says in bold and italic on the website that they are “non-sectarian, non-political and empathically Australian.” The mission of the group is to develop sources of Irish history, disseminate, amplify, honour and celebrate achievements. 

Canada’s Jessie Fleming, who missed the team’s scoreless draw with Nigeria on Thursday with an unspecified injury, was practising fully and is expected to play. Kadeisha Buchanan was missing from training but Priestman said her absence was precautionary and she expected to see her in the lineup on Wednesday.

The conditions should not affect the players but the huge number of Irish supporters will be interesting. Playing in front of crowds is not new because in their first match, Nigerian fans overpowered Canadian supporters.

After this match, Canada will face Australia, the beloved home team in their final group stage game on Monday. It is fair to say that Canada will have to fight not just the wet terrain but the resounding voices of support for their opponents. Mental toughness and preparedness will be as key as defensive and offensive maneuvering.