WWC: Ooof Canada
Canada, and Christine Sinclair, were eliminated in the final Canada group stage game against Australia and I’m frankly really bummed. Like, very very sad. And I just don’t have words. But I said I’d send you things, so let me let some others say their things.
Here are some of the best articles I’ve seen so far, leading up to and during the Cup:
Steph Yang put out this piece on an incredibly quick turn around that I think speaks to a lot of my feelings around Canada’s premature exit.
The Athletic is mostly hitting it out of the park, unsurprisingly. Their coverage of USWNT is frustrating, because they are bordering on serving as leadership’s PR agency, not asking any hard questions. That said, their coverage of the other 31 teams is fantastic. It’s worth the subscription for a month to get by the paywall. They have interviews with the players, explainers and deep-dives into the numerous team and FIFA-wide controversies, and even the more “mundane” is well done. Their “Journey to the Cup” series is fantastic.
Claire Watkins did point out some of the issues with the USWNT play so far. At least someone who has experience on the beat is talking about it (and not just the detestable Alexi Lalas).
Not new, but Sylvia Bullock’s writing on the language used to describe, and experience of, Black players is a must read, especially as we watch the officials seemingly using a completely different set of rules for penalizing Black players in this World Cup.
This absolutely incredible report on the dismal state of affairs for Colombia’s players.
Such is the state of affairs that “Colombia” could have been replaced with almost any of the other 31 teams in the Cup. Except Morocco. What’s the difference? Respect and fiscal equity.
What's it like in Australia right now? Naaman Zhou writes about it for The New Yorker and makes me extremely jealous. (Thanks to one of my readers for sharing this with me!)
Possibly the greatest tiktok channel I’ve encountered in WoSo so far.
Here is the one thing I will say about Sinclair and today's brutal defeat: Before she left the pitch, she checked in on every single one of her teammates. Here’s a quick interview she gave after.
By contrast, Cristiano Ronaldo, who trails Sinlair in a number of records but gets called the “GOAT” in her stead all the time? What did he do when he and Portugal were prematurely knocked out of his 5th and likely final World Cup? He stormed off the pitch without talking to anyone. I don’t fault anyone for their emotions, but at his level, his experience, ignoring all his teammates and thinking only of himself is selfish and embarrassing behavior.
Day 11 Briefing
These teams are through to the knockout stage in some form:
Spain
Japan
Sweden
Switzerland
Norway
Australia
Nigeria
These teams have been officially eliminated:
Vietnam
Ireland
Panama
Costa Rica
Zambia
Canada
The matchups we know for the round of 16
Match 49
Switzerland vs Spain
Sat, 05/08/2023
Auckland, New Zealand
17:00 local time
Match 50
Japan vs Norway
Sat, 05/08/2023
Wellington, New Zealand
20:00 local time