Gotham FC travelled to the inaugural FIFA Women’s Champions Cup™ looking to return home as women’s football’s maiden intercontinental queens. A narrow defeat to SC Corinthians, though, put paid to those ambitions.
The Bats will now contest for bronze, and have Moroccan giants ASFAR lying in wait at Arsenal Stadium. While they can no longer reach the top rung of the podium, midfielder Sarah Schupansky is determined to leave the English capital on a high.
“It’s certainly disappointing [not to make the final],” she told FIFA. “Anytime we’re in a competition, especially on the international stage, we want to be in contest to win that first place. But just because that’s not the reality for us right now, doesn’t mean we’re going to go into this game any less focused or any less determined than we would have final.”
“I think that we are such an experienced group that we know how to go about these moments,” midfielder Josefine Hasbo stated. “We regrouped, we reflected, we’ve had video analysis ultimately to figure out what didn’t go right and the stuff that we just cannot do wrong against our next opponent on Sunday if we want to win the game.”
While ASFAR head to the third-place play-off following a 6-0 defeat to Arsenal, the Moroccans defended well for large parts of that game, imposed themselves physically and threatened on the counter. Hasbo knows that match won’t be a walk in the park.
“We ultimately expect ASFAR to probably [display] the same tendencies as against Arsenal, being aggressive in their pressure, but also to try to be as compact defensively,” she said. “So, the most important [thing] is that we actually continue to keep the good moments of having close connections and keeping possession, but we just have to be more vertically-minded and create better chances to hit the target.”
Having played the semi-final match at Brentford Stadium, the pair will head 15 miles north-east to the 60,704-capacity Arsenal Stadium. The ground has played host to some of world football’s biggest names, and that has certainly upped the ante among the Gotham ranks.
“It will be an amazing atmosphere,” Hasbo stated. “I’m sure it’s a great stadium with great history and when you step on the pitch that comes with the responsibility to play good football. So, I definitely expect from our team that we’ll do that on Sunday.
“It’s impressive to play in front of so many people. In the NWSL, we have pretty good statistics in terms of attendance, so it’s something that this team thrives under when there are people to cheer for the teams on the pitch.”
Schupansky added: “I think it’s one of the best places to play in the whole entire world. I was a little girl watching games on TV and dreaming about being a fan, let alone being a player in a game that’s occurring in that stadium. It’s something that I think is going to be very surreal for all of us, but making the most of the opportunity and taking it in and just enjoying the team-mates I’m getting this opportunity with. I think it’s beautiful that it’s now a stadium that the women’s game fills as well as the men’s side. Obviously, growing up, that wasn’t the case.”
Gotham may not have claimed the result they wanted on the field, but the experience of taking part in an intercontinental club competition has whet the appetite for the Bats to return for next year’s event.
“I already think it’s [intercontinental football] a conversation-starter among women’s soccer fans all across the world,” Schupansky added. “I think getting the opportunity to see what the style of play is like in other countries and getting to see the fans and the community that this game has created on the other side of the world is unbelievable.
“It’s an honour to be a part of it this year. We’re going to do our best in this last round and put our best foot forward, but we want to come back and we want to prove that we are the best team in the world. I’ve obviously only been a professional soccer player for about a year now, but it’s beautiful to see even how much the game has grown in one year. I think it’s only going to go up from here, but to be a part of it is very special and I’m very grateful for this opportunity.”
