Host Country Canada Needs More than Sinclair to Show up at World Cup

This story originally appeared on VICE Sports Canada.

Saturday afternoon at Commonwealth Stadium, just a short eight-minute drive from Edmonton, Alberta's City Hall, Canada will line up side by side, arm in arm, and belt out a version of "Oh Canada" before its match against China. Joining the team in the chorus will be close to 60,000 adoring fans in a sea of red and white—some of them suited up in warpaint and some draped in the national flag. The hype surrounding the Canadian women's soccer team has gone gangbusters ever since the bronze medal performance at the London Olympics in 2012. It will only reach fever pitch once the referee blows that whistle to start the game Saturday late in the afternoon hue.

With hype, though, expectations rise and the realities of what is expected can be blown out of proportion. If Canada is to win the World Cup on home soil, it'd join the 1999 US squad as the only teams to win as a host nation. With a young team, an aggressive Barcelona FC possession tact, and, with the added euphoria of hometown support, can the Canadians really win the 2015 World Cup?

The first thing we all must do is to let go of 2012's, 4-3, loss (that felt like a win) to the Americans, and let go of the bronze medal win against France. They were both honourable and proud results, but that was three years ago. It's easy to let those epic results float around and live in that moment forever like a perpetual daydream but, the truth is, Canada's World Cup record is deplorable. Canada has only managed to amass four wins in 18 World Cup matches since 1995. At the 2011 World Cup, Canada scored one goal and finished last with an 0-3 record. Of the country's five World Cup appearances, Canada has only qualified for the knockout stages once.

The immediate concerns for Canada is its opposition, archrivals and feared foe, USA and Germany. Team USA owns a formidable World Cup record of 28-7 and has averaged more than three goals per game since 1991. Germany enters this tournament undefeated in all of its warmup and qualifying games and has booted 62 goals in 10 matches. Germany and the US have won four out of the six World Cup titles. If Canada is to win, it'll need to produce darn good football to topple both of these soccer heavyweights.

To add to the unease, Canada's opponents in Group A are largely unknown quantities. Although Canada beat China, 1-0, in the 2003 quarterfinal, China failed to qualify in 2011 and has reappeared in 2015, bringing an uncertainty to the tournament. Canada has little experience playing New Zealand or the Netherlands at the World Cup, leaving those matches hard to predict. Canada's higher rank than its group mates should ensure at least two wins to qualify through to the round of 16. Once there, the Canadian women would have to contend with the likes of Japan (current World Cup title holders), France, which kicked 52 goals during its qualifying rounds, and possibly a rampant, longshot Australian team, which scored 11 goals against Vietnam before arriving in Canada.

Since coach John Herdman took over in 2011, he's injected the Canadian team with professionalism, a hard work ethic and set about restoring some pride into Canadian soccer. In the documentary RISE, a 45-minute film on Canada's road to the World Cup, players are seen strapping heart rate monitors to their bodies to measure and better themselves against recorded data. So expect a fitter, a more well drilled outfit compared to the one that bottomed out in 2011. Herdman said in RISE that the average age for any of the World Cup champion teams was around 28 years old—Canada's average age in 2015 is 27.6. Not only did Herdman recognize that statistic, he's gone and built a team around it and only time will tell if he's on the money.

A few things must happen if Canada is to go deep in the World Cup. Its defensive unit, powered by 19-year-old Kadeisha Buchanan and 31-year-old Lauren Sesselmann, must dry up scoring opportunities. Since 1995, Canada has let through 46 goals, an average of roughly three per game. That will need to stop.

Furthermore, Canada will need to show the world other players can score goals outside of veteran striker Christine Sinclair and 26-year old Sophie Schmidt. Forwards Adriana Leon and Josee Belanger will need to step up and help ease the load in the front end, while Sinclair and Schmidt grab meager and obvious opportunities and turn them into goals. Then there's defensive midfielder Desiree "the destroyer" Scott to consider, who is to the Canadian team what Kyle Lowry is to the Raptors: tough at it.

When the Canadians arrived in Edmonton earlier in the week they were mobbed by hundreds of fans and were surrounded by player murals painted on the gate lounge walls. Last week, the team defeated England, 1-0, in front of 24,000 supporters at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario, an attendance feat never achieved before. We've also had the FIFA World Cup trophy tour and hours upon hours of team footage and player interviews.

The time for action has come and Canada must make a statement at this World Cup in front of sellout crowds or it will forever be remembered as the team that won a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics.