Friday Roundup: Canada to play friendly in Germany

Also in today’s roundup, Australian star Larissa Crummer injures foot and Lauren Holiday posts Instagram message to her baby daughter on inauguration day

Canada Soccer announced on Friday that the national team will travel to Germany during the April FIFA window for a friendly against the European and Olympic champions. The match is set for April 9 in Erfurt.

“We want to take this team from fourth to first and the only way to do that is to consistently play tier-one, world-class teams like Germany,” Canada coach John Herdman said, referencing Canada’s current world ranking and the one they aspire to.. “We’ve made a commitment to play the best and this match in April will give us an opportunity to test ourselves against the best in the world.”

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Canada and Germany squared off twice during last summer’s Olympic games. In the final group match Canada rallied behind a Melissa Tancredi brace to beat Germany 2-1 and win Group F. In the semifinal rematch a week later Germany converted an early penalty on their way to a 2-0 victory. Germany then beat Sweden for the gold medal while Canada upended Brazil for their second straight Olympic bronze.

“It was just such a great moment for our team, beating the European Champions and securing first in our group,” Herdman said.

Herdman opened an assessment camp on Friday as a leadup to a February 4 friendly against Mexico.

Larissa Crummer’s W-League season over

Larissa Crummer, one of the brightest young stars on Australia’s national team, had her club season cut short by a foot injury not long after returning from absence due to an injury to the opposite ankle. The recently turned 21-year old posted the news on her personal Instagram account. The injury is a blow for holders Melbourne City FC who face a crucial weekend test against Brisbane Roar.

Absolutely devastated my season is over. I worked so hard to get back fit with an ankle injury only to pick up a fracture in my other foot. Another hard road ahead but I'll promise I'll be back fitter and stronger ??

A photo posted by Larissa Crummer (@larissarosecrummer) on Jan 19, 2017 at 8:24pm PST

Crummer made her U-20 debut at age 14 and her professional debut for Sydney FC at 16. That season she helped Sydney win the W-League. Last season Crummer scored 11 goals to take the golden boot while helping Melbourne City to an undefeated championship season.

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As an 18-year old, Crummer scored the only goal in Australia’s 1-0 win over the Netherlands at the 2015 Cyprus Cup. Her other international goal was in 2016. She was part of Australia’s World Cup and Olympic sides as a teenager.

Lauren Holiday writes Instagram message to daughter

On the day Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States, former U.S. national team star Lauren Holiday posted an Instagram picture of her baby daughter sporting a “Mom for President” onesie. Accompanying the photo is a message about equality with references to Holiday’s faith.

I may not be the president, baby but I'll promise to be your Mom. I'll teach you that your brown skin is beautiful. I'll show you that being a girl and a woman is a privilege. How being incredibly powerful means serving those around you and fighting for those who cannot fight for themselves. I will tell you about Jesus and how he taught us to love unconditionally. We will have many talks about equality and I will always encourage generosity. One day if you ask me what you can be, I will smile and say absolutely anything. I'll tell you whatever it is you choose, be kind. I'll fight for you, I'll cheer for you and I'll love you along the way. But most of all, I'll make sure you're hopeful. So today, baby, I'll choose hope.

A photo posted by Lauren Cheney (@laurenholiday12) on Jan 20, 2017 at 10:51am PST

Holiday is recovering from surgery last fall to remove a benign brain tumor. She has remained mostly out of the public eye since retiring as a soccer player near the end of 2015. All reports on her health have been positive. Her husband Jrue took a leave of absence from the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans to look after Lauren and the couple’s daughter. He returned in November after missing the team’s first 12 games.