Canadian women to go for soccer bronze again after losing 2-0 to Germany

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil -- Four years after a crushing loss to the U.S. at the Olympics, the Canadian women's soccer team took another semifinal punch to the gut Tuesday.

And if possible, it hurt even more.

Goals by Melanie Behringer and Sara Daebritz on either side of halftime dashed Canadian dreams of going for gold as the second-ranked Germans efficiently ended the Canadians' four-game win streak at the tournament. Down 2-0 after 59 minutes, 10th-ranked Canada came on in waves but was unable to make ground before a sparse crowd of 5,641 at Mineirao Stadium.

Once the final whistle blew in Belo Horizonte, tearful Canadian players were left to console each other on the field. The pain was still evident later on the faces of the few Canadians who spoke to the media.

Canada will play No. 8 Brazil for the bronze Friday in Sao Paulo. Germany will face No. 6 Sweden for gold in the storied Maracana in Rio after the Swedes defeated the Olympic hosts 4-3 on penalties after the game ended 0-0 following extra time.

The Canadians gave up a poor goal early and failed to take their chances. Germany did, efficiently blunting one Canada attack after another after taking a 2-0 lead in the second half.

"We're obviously pretty crushed emotionally," said Canadian veteran Diana Matheson, one of six veterans of the London Games on the current team. "That game hurts.

"In 2012 (against the U.S.) we felt like we did all we could and the game was taken from us. The game tonight was there for the taking and we just didn't get the job done. It hurts, for sure."

Veteran fullback Rhian Wilkinson, asked to compare the pain of the semifinal losses, called them "different kinds of sadness."

"Look, we're extremely proud Canadians and we take great pride in wearing that jersey," she said. "And to be in that situation, to have that opportunity and to not be able to bring it home and not be able to show what we can do is what's so, so disappointing.

"But we'll give ourselves tonight. We will be sad. We'll talk to our families and cry. And them tomorrow it's back to work."

Both players were fighting back tears as they met the media. The jubilant Germans meanwhile, could be heard singing after their post-match news conference.

The Canadian women rebounded to beat France for the bronze four years ago. Now they must pick themselves up again to fight for a medal.

"It feels like crap right now," said 18-year-old midfielder Jessie Fleming. "I wanted to win a gold medal. But we're going to win bronze."

Canadian coach John Herdman, normally ebullient, was stone-faced as the post-match news conference began. He knew a golden chance had been lost.

"That was the opportunity to go and take a gold medal home to Canada," he said. "And we missed that. We're sorry to Canada for missing that opportunity. We get a chance at the bronze."

"The team gave it their best. Absolutely gave it their best," he added. "I can't fault the players. Germany took their chances. And we didn't. We had some good chances."

The pain is familiar.

Four years ago, the Canadians were up 3-2 with 10 minutes remaining when the Americans were awarded a controversial penalty. Abby Wambach converted the spot kick and Alex Morgan delivered the dagger in extra time for a 4-3 win.

Captain Christine Sinclair eventually was fined and banned for four games for "displaying unsporting behaviour towards match officials."

Sinclair did not speak to the media this time. But she stood a while alone on the field after the final whistle before gathering her teammates in a huddle and telling them they are not going to go home empty-handed.

Sinclair's name plate, along with Herdman's, was initially on the post-game interview dais. But it was soon switched to Fleming.

The Canadian women will rue the opening goal in the 21st minute, a needless penalty conceded on a sliding Kadeisha Buchanan tackle that felled Alexandra Popp. But Buchanan, who plays a take-no-prisoners kind of game, had to cover a lot of ground just to get to the German as the Canadian defence was caught short.

A Canadian turnover up-field led to the attack and Canada was short a defender on the right. It was a clumsy challenge off to the side of the penalty box by Buchanan, who had left two Germans writhing in pain earlier in the game. The Canadian centre back was carded on the play -- her fourth yellow in four games -- by North Korean referee Hyanh Ok Ri.

Behringer, who also converted a penalty in the preliminary-round game against Canada, hammered the ensuing penalty past Stephanie Labbe for her fifth goal of the tournament.

Daebritz beat Labbe with a low shot in the 59th minute on the counter-attack to complete the scoring.

"They caught us. It was the old sucker-punch on the counter," said Herdman.

Canada switched to a 3-5-3 formation to boost the attack, after that but was unable to pull back a goal. The Germans defended in numbers, with goalkeeper Almuth Schult a formidable barrier, and then looked to counter-attack or just hammer the ball downfield.

Canada had its chances, outshooting the Germans 11-9 (4-3 in shots on target).

Janine Beckie's header went just wide in the 12th minute. And Germany needed a goal-line clearance from Tabea Kemme off a Buchanan header from a corner in the final minute of the first half.

Beckie had another glorious opportunity in the 57th minute but shot just wide on a nice feed from Melissa Tancredi. Then Schult had to punch the ball away before an onrushing Beckie got to it.

The final surge meant Canada finished with 61 per cent of the possession.

Canada had made history earlier in the tournament by defeating Germany for the first time after 12 consecutive losses. But the Germans restored normal service Tuesday, defending resolutely while probing the Canadian backline for holes.

Fullback Allysha Chapman, whose shoulder popped out in Friday's quarter-final win over France, was not deemed sufficiently recovered to start. Wilkinson, earning her 180th cap, replaced her with Ashley Lawrence on the other side. Josee Belanger, the fourth fullback on the roster, was suspended due to yellow card accumulation.

Germany took advantage of Chapman's absence, making inroads down the right side of the Canadian defence.

Herdman elected to start Tancredi, with Matheson on the bench. Tancredi scored both goals in Canada's 2-1 preliminary-round win over the Germans.

British bookmaker Ladbrokes had Canada at 13/5 to win, meaning a $100 bet would return $360. Germany was favoured at 6/5, with a $100 bet returning $220.

Still Canada came into the game on a high, having already beaten Germany, No. 3 France, No. 5 Australia and No. 93 Zimbabwe. That 4-0-0 record matched their previous total of Olympic wins. Canada went 4-4-2 mark in its two previous Olympic campaigns.

The Mineirao Stadium pitch was spotty, hardly surprising considering it was the ninth game staged at the 51-year-old venue since Aug. 3. But the two-tiered, circular stadium with its grey and white seats still provided a striking backdrop.

Canada's only previous trip to a final on the world stage was the 2002 FIFA Under-19 Women's World Championship when Canada lost 1-0 to the U.S. after extra time in Edmonton. A 19-year-old Sinclair led the tournament with 10 goals.

Prior to the game, Sinclair said the Canadian recipe for success in Brazil has been simple.

"I think we're the best defensive team in the world. (On offence), we catch teams on breaks and set pieces."

But not Tuesday.