sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½

NORWICH, United Kingdom — Short on options in attack, sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ looked to its defence Sunday in scoring a rare win over European heavyweight Germany.

Centre back Vanessa Gilles' early goal lifted sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ past the third-ranked Germans, a 1-0 decision that moved the Olympic champions atop the standings at the four-team Arnold Clark Cup. It was only sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½'s second win in 17 meetings (2-15-0) with Germany.

The sixth-ranked Canadian (1-0-1) women face No. 9 Spain (0-0-2) on Wednesday at Wolverhampton's Molineux Stadium with a chance to capture the inaugural tournament title. While Spain has yet to win at the four-team competition, it has impressed and sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ will have its hands full against the likes of world player of the year Alexia Putellas and her cohort.

With captain Christine Sinclair back home after the recent death of her mother, Adriana Leon unavailable through injury and Jordyn Huitema ruled out on the night for an undisclosed health issue, sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ coach Bev Priestman was short on options on attack. But Gilles, a force in the air, stepped up to provide all the offence needed.

The goal came in the seventh minute when Gilles headed home Janine Beckie's corner to open her international account. The Angel City FC defender soared above Klara Buehl before beating goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger with her downward header.

It was sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½'s first goal off a set piece in a year, with Jen Herst, a recent hire as goalkeeper and set piece coach, clearly leaving her mark.

"That's straight from the work on the training ground," Priestman said of the goal.

No. 8 England (0-0-2) and Spain played to a scoreless draw in the opener of Sunday's doubleheader at Carrow Road.

The Germans (0-1-1) had plenty of the ball but lacked clinical finishing in a scrappy game on a damp blustery evening. Gilles, however, was on the mark and sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ absorbed some late pressure — including a string of corners — to hang on for the win.

"It wasn't our best on-the-ball performance. It was a very sort of transitional, scrappy game," said Priestman.

"I thought we started really well, bright, but you probably would have felt, particularly the last 20 minutes of the game, we just found a way to win. … We had our chances. We could have put them away."

Gilles and centre back partner Kadeisha Buchanan did their part in repelling the Germans. The two anchor the Canadian defence, flanked by fullbacks Ashley Lawrence and Jayde Riviere at the England tournament.

"I think we have a world-class back four," said Priestman.

Both teams benefited from some non-calls, with Germany unsuccessfully appealing for two penalties.

"Offensively the last pass was missing at times, at least in the first half ," German coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg said through an interpreter. "Then after the break we did a lot better with that, but we did not manage to reward ourselves."

Voss-Tecklenburg was complimentary towards sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½, saying the Olympic champions had great team spirit and came as expected.

"It's great fun to play against them," she said. "And they made it quite difficult for us at times."

sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½'s lone previous victory over Germany was a 2-0 decision in group play at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Germany avenged that loss a week later with a 2-1 semifinal victory before defeating Sweden 2-1 to win gold. The Canadians claimed bronze after dispatching host Brazil 2-1.

sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ and Germany both needed to rally to earn 1-1 ties in their opening games Thursday.

sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ drew with England on the strength of Beckie's highlight-reel strike in the 55th minute while Germany needed an 87th-minute goal by Lea Schueller to pull even with Spain. Both games were at the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough.

Desiree Scott, earning her 172nd cap Sunday, captained sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ for the seventh time. Fellow midfielder Jessie Fleming was skipper for the first game.

Priestman made three changes to her starting lineup with Nichelle Prince, Cloe Lacasse and Quinn, who goes by one name, slotting in. The starting 11 came into the game with a combined 778 caps.

It marked the first start and fourth cap for the 28-year-old Lacasse, a forward who plays in Portugal for Benfica. It was cap No. 75 for Quinn, who had an outstanding game.

The Germans made seven changes to their starting lineup.

Unlike its opener against England, sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ started well and caused the Germans problems with its press. Germany came on as the half wore on, however.

Germany appealed unsuccessfully for a penalty in the 20th minute after captain Lina Magull's shot hit Gilles' arm but Venezuelan referee Emikar Calderas was unmoved. The Germans began to find some rhythm on the ball but did not threaten in the final third until late in the half.

Quinn opened up the German defence with a fine through ball to Prince in the 52nd minute. Berger appeared to body Prince as they collided just outside the penalty box but no foul was given.

Germany appealed for another penalty in the 68th minute, alleging Gilles had impeded German substitute Giulia Gwinn as she looked to burst into the penalty box.

Voss-Tecklenburg diplomatically suggested after the game that the officials were not at their best on the day.

Germany is not at full strength at the English tournament. Star striker Alexandra Popp is recovering from a knee injury while Tabea Wasmuth, Kathrin Hendrich, Svenja Huth, Lena Lattwein and Almuth Schult are unavailable through illness or COVID-19 protocols. 

The German women came into Sunday's game unbeaten in seven games (6-0-1) since a 1-0 friendly loss to France last June and were 35-3-3 since March 2018 — with the lone losses to France, Sweden and the Netherlands. 

sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ improved to 10-3-6 under Priestman, including two shootout wins at the Tokyo Olympics. The losses were to the U.S., Brazil and Mexico. 

The England tournament's title sponsor, Arnold Clark, is a family-run car dealer. 

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 20, 2022

The Canadian Press