Canada crashed out of the women's World Cup on Monday with a 1-0 loss to Sweden that left many wondering why the country's most prolific goal scorer was not called upon for a late penalty that would have tied the game. Christine Sinclair, who has 182 international goals, two shy of American Abby Wambach's all-time record, stood helpless as teammate Janine Beckie was denied by an outstanding save by the Swedish keeper in the 69th minute at Parc des Princes in Paris. The miss was quick to evoke memories of the 1998 Nagano Olympics when Canadian ice hockey great Wayne Gretzky was benched during the shootout of a shocking semifinal loss to the Czech Republic. Moments after Beckie's well-aimed shot was denied by a diving Hedvig Lindahl, who got both hands to the ball and pushed it around the post, Gretzky's name started trending on Twitter as fans compared the two incidents. Canada coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller allows the players to decide who will take a penalty and in this instance it was captain Sinclair who offered Beckie the chance. The 36-year-old Sinclair, well aware that Hedvig saved her penalty kick at the Algarve Cup in March, said she told Beckie if she wanted the shot, it was all hers. "She said, 'Absolutely.' I feel bad for even asking her, but I have all the faith in the world in her, we all do," said Sinclair, who was playing in what could be her last World Cup. "She's fearless out there and I asked her after the game if she placed it where she wanted to and she said, 'yes.' Then you can't do anything more, the keeper made a world-class save and you have to tip your hat to her." While Canada had opportunities, the Lindahl save appeared to suck the spirit out of the players. The round of 16 loss was beyond disappointing for a heralded, world No. 5 team that had lofty expectations given their run to the quarter-finals at the last World Cup on home soil. Beckie said the miss would stick with her for a long time but felt she had done all she could with the attempt. "I'm confident in my penalty, I thought I hit it really well," she said. "I thought she made a really good save. It's the big moments that are the moments that you live for. You get all the glory if it goes in and take all the blame, it feels like, if you miss." Sweden's Stina Blackstenius struck in the second half as they won 1-0 against Canada. In sweltering conditions at the Parc des Princes, the two teams struggled to register any shots on target in a first half despite Canada dominating possession. That all changed after the break when the Swedes stepped up a level and they were finally rewarded in the 55th minute when the Canadians lost possession of the ball in midfield. Kosovare Asllani played an inch perfect diagonal ball to striker Blackstenius, who prodded the ball past onrushing keeper Stephanie Labbe. It was her first goal of the tournament and it freed the Swedish team, which almost added a second with a thunderous drive from Fridolina Rolfo in the 61st minute. Canada had a chance to get back into the game after 68 minutes when they were awarded a penalty after a lengthy VAR review ruled that Asllani had handled the ball. However, veteran Sweden keeper Hedvig Lindahl dived to her right to tip Janine Beckie's spot kick away. "If they doubted I could make any penalty saves, that proved them wrong," Lindahl told reporters. "I had to stretch fully and it worked. It was pure joy. We got a lot more energy because of that." It was the first time Canada had failed to score in a World Cup knockout match and coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller said his young squad would learn from the experience. "We have a lot of players with a bright future. They didn't get their chance, but it's given them a thicker skin. The way we develop players is important. We have the third youngest squad so it's looking bright," he said. Sweden will now face two-time champions Germany on Saturday in Rennes in a repeat of the 2003 final. The Swedes have not beaten the Germans since 1995. "What's happened years ago isn't interesting. We have to look at how Germany played the last three matches," Swedish coach Peter Gerhardsson told a news conference. "I don't think it's relevant to the players, but it will be nice to break that trend." — Reuters
