Kadeisha Buchanan's goal holds up as Canada shuts out Cameroon in opener
Defender scores her 4th goal in 89 career matches; Canadians face New Zealand on Saturday
Neil Davidson The Canadian Press Jun 10, 2019
Centre back Kadeisha Buchanan scored the breakthrough goal on the eve of halftime against a stubborn Cameroon defence Monday as Canada opened its Women's World Cup campaign with a 1-0 win in Montpellier, France.
The Indomitable Lionesses, ranked 46th in the world, parked the bus early against No. 5 Canada.
The first-half storyline was Canada trying to play the ball and a physical Cameroon looking to stop it. The Africans strung five defenders in a line behind a holding midfielder when Canada had the ball, looking to win it back and send a long ball to a streaking forward.
At times, the Canadians seemed in search of perfection when a shot on target would have done nicely. Cameroon, meanwhile, took no prisoners with some hard-nosed play.
The breakthrough finally came in the 45th minute off a Janine Beckie corner. Buchanan, like an Exocet missile, came steaming through the penalty box at the far post, soared in the air and headed the ball downwards off the turf into the goal.
It was the fourth goal in 89 career matches for Buchanan — her third off a header and her first since February 2016. The relief for Canada was palpable.
Sinclair 3 goals shy of world record
Canada had 69 per cent of possession in the first half and seven corners to Cameroon's two, but only managed two shots on target to Cameroon's one.
Canada now heads 295 kilometres northeast to Grenoble where it faces New Zealand on Saturday. The 19th-ranked Football Ferns open Tuesday against the eighth-ranked Netherlands.
There were no surprises with the Canadian lineup with goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe behind a back four of Allysha Chapman, Buchanan, Shelina Zadorsky and Ashley Lawrence. Desiree Scott served as holding midfielder with Sophie Schmidt and Jessie Fleming behind a front three of Beckie, Nichelle Prince and Christine Sinclair.
Sinclair, who turns 36 on Wednesday, became Canada's oldest player to feature at a World Cup. The star striker from Burnaby, B.C., at her fifth World Cup, is three goals from tying retired American Abby Wambach's world record of 184 goals.
Smiling singers
Canada's starting 11 came into the game with a combined total of 1,120 caps, with Sinclair, Schmidt and Scott accounting for 609 of those. Still, coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller was able to field a squad with Prince the least experience starter at 50 caps.
Cameroon's starting 11 featured just one player, goalkeeper Annette Ngo Ndom, who plays her club soccer at home. Defender Estelle Johnson, a newcomer to the team who was born in Cameroon but raised in the U.S, earned her second cap.
There were smiles aplenty from the Canadian women as they finished singing "O Canada" and Canadian flags waved in the crowd. Labbe moved to the music as the Canadians huddled before kickoff.