Jessie Fleming is key to any success Canada's women's team will have in 2023 World Cup

On paper, the Canadian women's team's recent two-game series against Nigeria looked to be a mismatch. 

Canada, at No. 6, is 33 spots ahead of Nigeria in the current FIFA rankings, and was coming off a solid showing in February at the Alan Clark Cup where it tied hosts England (No. 8), before earning a rare win over No. 3 Germany, and losing to ninth-ranked Spain. But coach Bev Priestman saw value in playing the Nigerians, believing that lower-ranked nations are the ones that have given Canada the hardest time during her tenure. 

The Canadians are scheduled to compete in July's CONCACAF championship in Mexico, which doubles as the qualifiers for next year's FIFA Women's World Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympics. They will have to face similar opponents to Nigeria, who will bunker defensively and try to frustrate their attacking efforts. So last Friday's 2-0 win in Vancouver and Monday's 2-2 draw in Langford, B.C., proved to be ideal preparation for the CONCACAF competition. 

The big takeaway for Priestman from these matches against the 11-time African champions was that her team must find ways to efficiently break down opponents who set out to defend deep against them right from the start.

"We went into the Alan Clark Cup and I felt at times we looked more threatening, more attacking, creating more chances, and then you go and play these sorts of teams that do sit in and show us this respect," Priestman said after Monday's match. "That might be a sign of the future, and we just have to [adjust] the little things of how you play against a team that does that, whilst making sure you don't concede at the other end.

"Overall, I felt we looked more dynamic; now we have to fine tune and get the rhythm and the right partnerships on