By: Justin Zhao

Professional soccer player Emily von Egmond agrees that Matildas, a soccer player, cannot afford a loss in Nigeria if they prepare to play to keep the World Cup. If the team loses, they won’t be able to qualify for the world cup event. A draw is unlikely to be even enough for the event. It looks like the Canadians will get their World Cup on home soil.

A confident van Egmond said after her side’s unexpected loss to the Super Falcons at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.

“We stay positive, we stay true to who we are, and we get the job done in Melbourne,” said van Egmond.

On Thursday, the team played as long as they could. In the end, they ended short on 1 point. The Canadians got a two in-1. They had only reached 3rd, yet they are still positive.

Von Egmond is still positive even though they lost. “It’s about the team for me and we’re all on this journey together, no matter who takes the pitch. Everyone’s so important,” Von Egmond said. That includes Sam Kerr, who did not go to the tournament due to a calf injury and would not be return until Monday night.

It is a very disappointing time for the team. However, the game had a lot of positives, and they focused on those to think about the next round. They came to Ireland to win the match and never lost their home ground, so they were disappointed. The goalie of their team was Mackenzie Arnold, “We created a lot of chances, it’s just putting them away in the goal,” Arnold said. Arnold said there were a lot of very bad miscommunications in the game that gave the Nigerians the third point.

“It’s just what happened,” Arnold said. “It’s football – loud crowd, hard to hear, miscommunication,”