Women world cup, England loose to Canada

England were defeated 1-0 by host nation Canada
in their final warm-up game before the World Cup.
Sophie Schmidt scored with a brilliant first-time
strike from the edge of the box in the 23rd minute.
In a game of few clear openings, Mark Sampson's
England were second best for long periods but
Fara Williams struck the crossbar from distance
late on.
England begin their World Cup campaign with a
match against the highly-rated France side in
Moncton on 9 June.
And they will need to show a considerable
improvement on their performance in Hamilton,
Ontario, if they are to make a serious impression
at the World Cup.
They perhaps enjoyed the better of a scrappy start
to the match on the artificial surface at Tim
Hortons Field and went close through a free-kick
from returning captain Steph Houghton.
Canada - coached by Englishman John Herdman -
appeared tentative and uncertain before Schmidt
settled any nerves with her brilliant strike.
She connected with Josee Belanger's low pass and
thrashed the ball beyond Karen Bardsley with her
sensational first-time strike.
Canada, defeated by England in the Cyprus Cup
final in March, took charge for the remainder of the
opening half, with the impressive Schmidt going
close with a free-kick and again with a shot that
Bardsley kept out after the restart.
Sampson, who had named a first XI featuring
several players uncertain to start against France,
made a triple substitution on 60 minutes but it had
little impact as Canada continued to play the more
impressive football.
However, England almost levelled against the run
of play after 87 minutes when substitute Williams
struck the crossbar with a long-range effort that
completely caught out keeper McLeod.
England starting XI: Bardsley, Bronze, Houghton
(c), Stoney, Rafferty, Duggan, J Scott, Chapman,
Carney, White, Sanderson.