Sarah Stratigakis scored her first-ever goal on Sunday against the Argentina women’s national team. She has scored several goals in Canada’s youth teams. Stratigakis also scored the game-winning goal and is the main reason why Canada got its first-ever win in the SheBelieves Cup.
The score line was close, but Canada dominated the entire game. They had more possession and more shots on goal. As a result, Canada won 0-1 over Argentina.
The CANWNT wins with a late goal from Sarah Stratigakis
Three keys to the game
Canada had more chances
Canada had 17 shots with five of them hitting the target. This is not an efficient shot-to-shots-on-goal ratio. However, it showed the quality of the Canadian women’s national team. One of them was in the 12-minute when Orlando Pride midfielder Jordyn Listro’s shot was wide.
23' #CANWNT Jessie Fleming's header from an Argentinian giveaway was stopped. The game remains tied. #ARGvCAN | 0-0 | #SheBelievesCup
— Last Word on Soccer (@LastWordSC) February 21, 2021
Jessie Fleming had a glorious chance to score in the 23rd minute but was unable to capitalize. They had another particularly good chance in the 39th minute, but Fleming shot the ball wide. The game remains tied at this point. Then in the 50th minute in a scramble, Canada had a few chances to score. However, they were not able to get a good shot on target. Lastly, in the 55th minute, Adriana Leon had a shot that went wide.
Substitutions – Sarah Stratigakis steps up
It looked like with all their chances; Canada could not find one in the back of the net. However, the substitutions made by Canada coach Bev Priestman worked. This included making a substitute in the 73-minute. As a result, Sarah Stratigakis scored her first-ever goal for the senior team in the 90’+2nd minute. Credit should also be given to Janine Beckie, who made a dangerous free-kick cross that ended with Stratigakis scoring.
Sarah Stratigakis with the added time winner to earn #CanWNT their first victory in the 2021 #SheBelievesCup pic.twitter.com/zcbeHBj5h8
— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) February 22, 2021
It is important to note that Stratigakis also played a role in creating a chance in the 81st minute, which led to an opportunity for Evelyne Viens inside the box. It is clear she made an impact on the field when she came in the 73rd minute as a substitute.
Stephanie Labbé had a shutout
It is important to note that Stephanie Labbé only had to face three shots on goal (Argentina had seven shots in total). This includes the 31st minute, where Labbé made the easy save. A big part of that was Canada owning 63 percent of the possession. While at times they did not move the ball quickly enough, they were the better team. This played a big role in Canada getting more scoring chances than Argentina.
The Argentina offence had trouble breaking through the Canadian defense. There were of course some mistakes made on Canada’s end. This includes the 62nd minute when Canada gave the ball away. Fortunately, for Canada, the Argentinian player shot the ball well wide from the goal.
65’ Argentina had a chance to score but defended well by Canada.#ARGvCAN | 0-0 | #SheBelievesCup
— Raheem (@bashirra) February 22, 2021
Canada also defended well in the 65th minute and did not give Argentina many opportunities to score.
Sarah Stratigakis Scores Game-Winning Goal against Argentina Overview
Canada has now won and lost one game each. With the first game being a 1-0 loss to the US, Canada also kept their narrow hopes of winning the SheBelieves Cup with the late goal by Sarah Stratigakis. However, it will be hard for Canada to win the SheBelieves Cup as the U.S. are heavy-favorites to defeat Argentina on Wednesday. Even a tie against Argentina would give the U.S. the SheBelieves Cup title.
Sarah Stratigakis with the added time winner to earn #CanWNT their first victory in the 2021 #SheBelievesCup pic.twitter.com/zcbeHBj5h8
— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) February 22, 2021
However, that does not mean there is nothing to play for on Sept. 24 when Canada faces Brazil. Brazil like Canada has won and lost one game each. The win came against Argentina, where they won 4-1, before losing to the Americans 2-0. Brazil currently has a better goal differential than Canada, which is why they are ahead of Canada in the 2021 SheBelieves Cup.
Canada and Brazil also have the same FIFA ranking. They are both ranked eighth in the world. If Canada wins this game, they can improve their FIFA ranking and gain more confidence before the Olympics takes place in the summer. The game will take place at 4:00 PM EST at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
The time of the game will be 4 PM EST on Wednesday. The Canadians can watch the game on OneSoccer, which is a subscription-based streaming service. Canada was the one who defeated then host nation Brazil in the 2016 Summer Olympics. As a result, Canada won the bronze medal in hostile territory in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
