It was raining in Perth on Tuesday and the forecast says it will be pouring rain again Wednesday morning ahead of Canada's second match of the Women's World Cup against Ireland (8 a.m. ET.) Will the weather play a factor or are other factors, such as Ireland's physicality, more likely to affect the match?
Ireland is ranked 22nd in the world. We know that rankings don't always matter and we've just witnessed a huge upset in Group A with the Philippines (ranked No. 46) beating No. 26 New Zealand. World Cups are certainly a place for unpredictability and for new teams to forge their reputations.
But Ireland is a different type of beast. They aren't new to elite competition and boast some of the top players in Europe, including Katie McCabe. McCabe is a key player at North London's Arsenal FC in the Women's Super League. In preparing for the match, Canadian coach Bev Priestman said that McCabe is one of the players that was deeply analyzed because of her strength and skill on the pitch.
Knowing that Ireland is a physical team and had a tough opening loss to co-hosts Australia just means that they have nothing to lose in this match. The way that Ireland plays rough has been a huge part of the discourse ahead of Wednesday's game.
"We know what we have to do," Priestman said of the Irish.
Canadian forward Jordyn Huitema is ready to take on the challenge.
"I welcome physicality and I quite enjoy it as a player," she said Tuesday in Perth. "Canada, in general, is a very aggressive physical team so I think that it's going to be a good match up in terms of physicality."
Defender Jayde Riviere echoed her teammate.
"A part of our Canadian DNA is to be gritty and to be that kind of team that doesn't let people boss them around,"
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