Canada started their World Cup campaign with a win as an injury time penalty converted by Christine Sinclair earned the hosts all three points. They will now be hoping they can continue the run going when they face 17th ranked New Zealand in their second match.
The Canadian side will once again be relying on their captain Christine Sinclair to produce the goods. The 31 year old has 154 international goals under her name making her the third highest goal scorer in Women's football. With the other forwards namely Jonelle Filigno and Melissa Tancredi misfiring, it will be down to the skipper to guide Canada to their second victory in the competition.
However Sinclair's yellow card in the side's opening match means that another booking could earn her a one match suspension and she must therefore keep her temperament in the match against New Zealand.
New Zealand on the other hand suffered a defeat in their match against the Netherland despite of putting up an impressive offensive performance. The Football Ferns were definitely the better side for the majority of the game with Hannah Wilkinson registering four shots including two on target. Ria Percival could have made the difference from a dead ball situation but her free kick went just wide.
The New Zealand squad however boasts two fine attacking talents in Amber Hearn and Sarah Gregorious. The former has scored 45 international goals in 99 appearances whereas the latter has found the back of the net on 23 occasions in 66 games.
The New Zealand side was a potent threat from dead ball situations and earned eight corners during their match against the Netherlands. However the threat was not strong enough to produce a goal and on Thursday they will be hoping to use set pieces to their advantage. Apart from recording their first win of the campaign, New Zealand will also be hoping to win a match for the first time in the Women's World Cup. They have been unable to record a victory in any of the ten matches they have played so far.
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