Four Nations Tournament Begins: A Great Start For Canada, A Not-So-Great Start For The USA

Yesterday, or rather early today, marked the beginning of the 2011 Four Nations Tournament. Yesterday's fixtures were USA vs. Sweden and Canada vs. China. Let's start off with the first fixture that kicked us off (and it qualifies for my bad news first policy):

USA vs. Sweden- The first match of the day which kicked off at 2:35am ET started well for the USA as they went up 1-0 courtesy of a Carli Lloyd header off a Rapinoe corner kick in the 11th minute. However, Sweden equalized 5 minutes later in the 16th off a goal from Segerstrom. The game stayed level until the 61st minute when Asllani gave Sweden the lead. Even after 30 minutes, the USA could still not equalize. Sweden went on to grab 3 points, while the USA walked away with 0 points, and a loss to start off 2011. Definitely not the greatest way to start the Year, but maybe it's good to get these losses out of the way now. What better time to make mistakes than early on, when you can learn from them?

Canada vs. China- The second match started out great for the host team, but like the USA vs. Sweden match, the team that scores first doesn't always win. China went up by 2 goals after You Jia scored a brace. However, Canada would answer with 2 of their own to equalize when Chapman and Tancredi scored one each. Then, Canada pushed even harder, winning the game 3-2, sealing the deal with Sinclair's game-winning goal. Canada showed resilience and great form, possibly the best they've ever shown in a long time.

That's our match review for today. Canada and Sweden are off to good starts in this competition, but as we've seen in our first 2 games, the team that has a good start doesn't always win. There are still 2 more games to be played, and someone can come from behind.

See you again on Sunday when these teams play again! It'll be USA vs. Canada and China vs. Sweden.

Denise