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Canada defence stingy but offence challenged

Canada stingy in defence but challenged on offence at Women's World Cup
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Canada's goalkeeper Erin McLeod (1) makes a save against New Zealand during FIFA World Cup during first half action in Edmonton

By The Canadian Press

TORONTO - Tournament statistics confirm Canada as an offensively challenged, defensively stingy team at the Women's World Cup.

With just two goals from three games, Canada is tied for 19th with the Netherlands, New Zealand, Mexico and Spain in tournament scoring. Only Ecuador, with one goal, scored less.

Of those six, Ecuador, Mexico, New Zealand and Spain have gone home.

Canada, eighth in the world in the FIFA rankings, faces No. 19 Switzerland on Sunday in a round-of-16 game in Vancouver.

Canada stands ninth in tournament shots with 40 and tied for eight in shots on target (15). The Canadian women are tied with Thailand for hitting the woodwork the most times at three.

On the plus side, Canada is tied for second in goals against with one. Brazil has yet to concede with Germany, Japan and the U.S. joining Canada with just one goal given up.

The tournament's 36 first-round games produced 107 goals for an average of 2.97 a game. There were 53 goals scored in the first half and 54 in the second.

Top-ranked Germany dominates the offensive stats, leading the tournament with 15 goals on 92 attempts (17 shots saved, 26 blocked and 34 off target). Anja Mittag is the leading scorer with four goals.

The tournament had drawn 885,269 fans although that figure is somewhat misleading given FIFA counts fans attending a doubleheader twice.