Awujo breathes life into Canada to advance to SheBelieves Cup final

The Canadian women’s team has a knack for getting results despite doing things the hard way. 

Canada battled back against Brazil to earn a 1-1 draw through 90 minutes of regulation time in Saturday’s SheBelieves Cup semifinal in Atlanta before pulling out a 4-2 victory in the tense penalty shootout that immediately followed.   

Goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan made a big save on Brazilian star Marta, and Adriana Leon, Jade Rose, and substitutes Simi Awujo and Julia Grosso converted from the spot for the Canadians.  

Centre back Vanessa Gilles scored regulation time for Canada, who advances to next Tuesday's final in Columbus, Ohio, where it'll meet the United States. The Americans beat Japan 2-1 in Saturday's other semifinal in Atlanta.  

The United States is No. 4 in the current FIFA world ranking, ahead of Japan (No. 7), Canada (No. 9) and Brazil (No. 10).  

"It wasn't the perfect game but I'm really happy with the mindset of the group to pull through and do whatever it takes to win," Canadian coach Bev Priestman told reporters after the game. 

Here are three major takeaways from Saturday’s game.  

A tale of two halves for Canada 

Coach Bev Priestman set Canada up in a 3-4-3 formation while experimenting with a diamond-shaped midfield.  

Kailen Sheridan played behind a back three of Vanessa Gilles, Jade Rose and Kadeisha Buchanan. The midfield diamond was made up of Janine Beckie and Ashley Lawrence at the wingback positions, captain Jessie Fleming at the base and Jordyn Huitema at the top. The front three featured Deanne Rose in the middle while being flanked by Adriana Leon and Cloé Laccase.   

Brazil came out strong from the opening kickoff and carried the bulk of the play in the first half with its effective pressing and counter-attacking game. Much of Canada’s best moments going forward flowed through Huitema, while Fleming wasn’t nearly involved enough in the attack. Canada was overrun by Brazil in midfield which meant the back three were often exposed and left to deal with plenty of attacking forays by the South Americans.  

The breakthrough came in the 22nd minute when Brazil’s Ludmila skipped by Jade Rose while coming off the left wing and was then hacked down by the centre back inside the box. Tarciane’s penalty attempt blew past Sheridan.  

Awujo, 20, replaced Beckie at the start of the second half as Priestman looked to give Fleming some defensive support in midfield. With Awujo on the pitch, Fleming began to see more of the ball as she tried to create through the middle. More and more, Canada began to put pressure on Brazil’s back line with its probing attack. 

Awujo nearly equalized for Canada in the 56th minute with a powerful shot from distance. Fleming began to find Leon in behind Brazil’s back line with her pinpoint passes, but the Canadian forward couldn’t convert on her chances.   

The equalizer came in the 77th minute when Fleming delivered a peach of a free kick into the six-yard box that Gilles nodded home after slipping between two Brazilian defenders. It was a just reward for the Olympic champions who had been continuously knocking on the South Americans’ door.

Awujo’s introduction swings game in Canada’s favour 

After a rather laboured opening 45 minutes from Canada, coach Bev Priestman had to do something in order to give her team a lifeline in the second half. She made the bold move of replacing veteran forward Janine Beckie with young midfielder Simi Awujo, who still plays NCAA soccer for the University of Southern California. 

It proved to be an inspired substitution by Priestman as the introduction of Awujo tipped the scales of the match in Canada’s favour. Awujo, who grew up in Atlanta, gave Canada a solid two-way presence, helping her team slowly take control of the game and ask questions of the South Americans’ back line.

With Awujo doing the unglamorous muck work in midfield, captain Jessie Fleming saw more of the ball and was liberated to pursue her attacking instincts. Awujo also wasn't afraid to venture forward in support of Canada’s attack and nearly equalized in the 56th minute when her shot hit the goalpost.   

When it came to the tense penalty shootout, the youngster held her nerve by slotting a low shot into the bottom right corner, giving veteran Brazilian goalkeeper Lorena no chance of making a save. 

This was only Awujo’s 14th appearance for Canada since making her international debut in 2022, so she doesn’t have a great deal of experience. But you’d never know it by her mature and composed performance in this pressure-filled contest against Brazil. 

Priestman said bringing in Awujo crucially gave Canada another body in midfield and allowed it to slow down the South Americans.

"We had to adapt. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't perfect," Priestman explained.

A mixed bag from the returning Janine Beckie  

Some familiar faces are back for Canada at the SheBelieves Cup. Bev Priestman unveiled her 23-player roster last week and included in her squad were forward Janine Beckie and midfielder Desiree Scott, who both recently returned to action with their pro clubs after being sidelined with knee injuries for over a year.  

While Scott was glued to the bench on Saturday, Beckie started at the left wingback spot in her first appearance for Canada since last March at the 2023 SheBelieves Cup.  

Beckie, 29, ranks fifth in all-time scoring for Canada with 36 goals in 102 appearances since making her international debut in 2015. Her return to the lineup bodes well for Canada as it prepares to defend its gold medal at this summer’s Paris Olympics. But given the nature of the ACL injury she just overcame it’s going to take time for her to get back to her top form, as evidenced by Saturday’s contest against Brazil.

It was a mixed performance on Saturday from Beckie, who carved out two scoring chances early on. She was released down the left via an exquisite pass from Jordyn Huitema and broke into the box before her shot from close range was deflected by a Brazilian defender, leading to a comfortable save from the goalkeeper. Minutes later, Deanne Rose did well to get to the end-line before cutting the ball back into the box where Beckie connected on a header from eight yards out that flashed past the post.  

But Beckie also struggled on the defensive side of the ball and couldn’t deal with Brazil’s quick, transitional play down the right side. Her lack of passing accuracy while playing out from the back led to turnovers and allowed Brazil to run at Canada’s three centre backs. After a very uneven 45-minute performance, Beckie was subbed out at the start of the second half by youngster Simi Awujo.