4 key questions facing Canada after stalemate in Women's World Cup opener

Canada was held to a goalless draw in its Women's World Cup opener against Nigeria in a scrappy match that started Thursday night and finished in the wee hours of Friday morning. The contest left plenty to ponder for Bev Priestman and the reigning Olympic champion Canadians. Here are four key questions the team must answer to have success going forward in the tournament.

How bad is Fleming's injury?

The injury-induced absence of influential midfielder Jessie Fleming loomed large, and not just because the Chelsea playmaker would likely have been tasked with taking the penalty that captain Christine Sinclair spurned early in the second half of the eventual 0-0 draw in Melbourne.

The decorated 25-year-old, already with 115 caps to her name - 101 of those being starts - is a cornerstone of the side; the last time she didn't start a match for Canada was in 2021. She was also named the program's best player in each of the last two years. So, yeah, the calf issue that limited her all week in training, and ultimately forced her to miss the contest out of an abundance of caution, couldn't have come at a more inopportune time. It's critical that she's fully fit going into the next match against Ireland on July 26.

Canada, so heavily reliant on Fleming to be the link between the midfield and forwards, looked disjointed in the final third against Nigeria. Without the crafty midfielder, who can break games open and unlock stout opposition with an array of incisive passes, Sinclair adopted the Fleming-like role playing in the hole behind striker Jordyn Huitema.

The captain found some decent pockets of space in the first half - she curled an effort over the bar from a promising position just outside the penalty area in the early stages. However, the iconic 40-year-old faded before being subbed off in the second half, particularly after her penalty was expertly saved by Chiamaka Nnadozie in the 50th minute.

Canada, never a particularly prolific team to begin with, badly needs Fleming on the pitch to succeed in Australia and New Zealand.

Where will the goals come from?

This was always the single biggest concern heading into the World Cup.

Canada, for all its recent success, has never been a team capable of lighting up the scoreboard on a consistent basis. In its five games this year ahead of the World Cup, the Canadians found the net just three times. Even en route to gold in Tokyo, Canada only scored twice in the knockout stages, and those were both penalties converted by Fleming.

Creating scoring opportunities from open play remains an issue, especially as Sinclair has entered the twilight of her remarkable career. She's seen her role evolve from prolific striker to midfield playmaker who more commonly orchestrates the attack from deep instead of finishing it. Sinclair, who's looking to become the first player to find the net in six different World Cups, may be the top scorer in international soccer history with 190 goals, but she can't shoulder all of the scoring burden.

Unfortunately, the Canadian crop of forwards, though talented, doesn't strike fear into the heart of opposition backlines.

Huitema went into the World Cup with one goal in her last 13 international appearances; prior to scoring in a pre-tournament friendly against France, her last tally for the national team came in 2022. Deanne Rose and Nichelle Prince are still shaking off the rust after long injury layoffs. Adriana Leon arrived at the tournament after playing 162 league minutes combined between Manchester United and the Portland Thorns in 2022-23.

Canada hasn't scored more than two goals in a single World Cup match since 2007, and on the evidence of Thursday's stalemate, that trend isn't likely to change over the next month.

Time for some lineup tweaks?

With the aforementioned scoring issues top of mind, Priestman has some big lineup decisions to make. Next week's clash with Ireland is suddenly vital to Canada's chances of reaching the knockout stage of the competition.

The 4-2-3-1 system used against the Super Falcons - which shifted into a 4-5-1 on the rare occasions Canada was out of possession - relies heavily, in theory, on the two wide attackers to stretch the opposing backline, which can in turn create space in the middle of the field for teammates to exploit. But neither Leon nor Rose had a significant impact on proceedings from open play. They combined for four touches inside the Nigerian penalty area - all from Leon, as Canada tried to attack more often down its left side - with Rose being substituted at halftime.

Rose's replacement, Cloe Lacasse, made a case for a starting berth against Ireland by making an immediate impact. She helped win Canada's penalty by outwitting a Nigerian defender that was trying to shield the ball out of play and feeding Sinclair inside the area; Sinclair was then promptly fouled. Coming off the best season of her career at Benfica, and subsequently earning a big move to Arsenal, the 30-year-old deserves a look from the opening whistle.

Evelyne Viens was also threatening when she replaced Leon in the 64th minute. While Leon produced some excellent deliveries from set pieces that caused chaos inside the Nigerian penalty area, she was subdued in open play, often getting too isolated out wide and unable to interconnect with teammates. Viens, meanwhile, looked more comfortable cutting inside and getting into the penalty area - she attempted two shots in her limited time on the pitch. Canada, quite simply, looked most dangerous and likely to break the deadlock late in the game with Lacasse and Viens involved.

Some of that is simply the inevitable stretching of a game as teams and players tire and space opens up, but the substitute duo deserves an opportunity from the start next week at Perth Rectangular Stadium.

A blueprint to stymie Canada?

Nigeria, which typically likes to press and play on the front foot under manager Randy Waldrum, eschewed that approach entirely. Instead, the team sat deep and dared Canada to try and break down its low defensive block.

For the most part, it worked like a charm.

Canada hoarded the ball, sure, but did little with it. Despite having 67% of the possession in the first half, Canada didn't manage a shot on target until Sinclair's penalty early in the second stanza. If anything, Nigeria looked more threatening as the first half went on, with star striker Asisat Oshoala unnerving the Canadian defense on the counterattack.

Nigeria looked dangerous after the interval, too.

That approach could provide a roadmap for Canada's remaining opponents. Ireland, likely to pack its own penalty area with a defensive-minded 5-4-1 setup, profiles as precisely the type of team that can frustrate Canada.

At one point in the second half, Julia Grosso picked up the ball in a promising area near the Nigerian penalty area and looked left to spread the play out wide where she expected a teammate to be stationed. Nobody was there. The Juventus midfielder, quickly swarmed by multiple defenders as she searched for a forward pass that never presented itself, lost possession. Exasperated, she threw out her arms, as if to ask, "Who's out there?"

"We have to review (our game) and fine-tune some things," Priestman said after the goalless draw. "But very quickly, we have to move on. Tournament football is about moving on."

If Canada's spacing in the final third isn't better, and the interplay around the penalty area continues to lack crispness, the reigning Olympic champion will struggle in a highly competitive Group B.