Jordyn Huitema always planned on making it to the World Cup.
B次元官网网址淚n school youB次元官网网址檇 have to make short-term and long-term goals as a part of the curriculum,B次元官网网址� recalled the 18-year-old forward from her hometown of Chilliwack.
B次元官网网址淢y long-term was always this tournament.
B次元官网网址淓very year that would go by, it would get closer and closer and more in sight. Still until honestly a few months ago, I never thought that it would be really there for me.B次元官网网址�
Huitema remembers making that first list in Grade 4. Related goals included playing for the womenB次元官网网址檚 national team and earning Olympic gold B次元官网网址� as well as winning the World Cup.
B次元官网网址淢y teachers actually got mad because (the list) would never change. They were like B次元官网网址楯ordyn, you need to come up with more.B次元官网网址� I was like B次元官网网址業 donB次元官网网址檛 have any more. ThatB次元官网网址檚 it. ThatB次元官网网址檚 my one long-term goal.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
Huitema will make good on that goal Monday when the fifth-ranked Canadians kick off their World Cup play against No. 46 Cameroon in Montpellier, France.
In truth, the five foot-11 forward has already achieved plenty. Going into the World Cup, she has six goals and 21 caps (including five starts).
She will stay in France after the World Cup. After turning 18 in May, she announced she was joining fellow Canadian Ashley Lawrence at Paris Saint-Germain.
Huitema, who spent five years honing her skills with the Whitecaps FC Girls Elite REX Program, wanted to blaze a trail for future Canadian internationals by joining a European pro club straight out of high school.
But her decision followed plenty of pondering on the school-versus-pro route, with Stanford and UCLA both beckoning.
Huitema was just 13 when she attended an under-15 talent identification camp in 2014. Two months later, she scored the deciding penalty kick in the shootout that earned Canada the CONCACAF U-15 championship over Haiti.
B次元官网网址淪heB次元官网网址檚 one of the closest things IB次元官网网址檝e seen to (Christine) Sinclair B次元官网网址� so no pressure on the kid,B次元官网网址� then womenB次元官网网址檚 coach John Herdman said dryly back in January 2017. B次元官网网址淎s a youngster, IB次元官网网址檝e seen those qualities of Sinclair B次元官网网址� the touch, the movement B次元官网网址� in people like Janine Beckie. But from what IB次元官网网址檝e seen of Jordyn, sheB次元官网网址檚 got the goal-scoring ability and the sort of height and size and presence that you associate with Christine on the field.B次元官网网址�
Herdman brought her briefly into a camp prior to the 2016 Olympics and said B次元官网网址渟he knocked it out of the park.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淪he was on par with our senior players and looking like she could be the future,B次元官网网址� he added.
She was 15 years old when she made her Canada senior debut in March 2017 against Spain at the Algarve Cup. In 2017, she became the first player to score for CanadaB次元官网网址檚 under-17, under-20 and senior side all in the same year.
In June 2017, she came off the bench in a Toronto friendly against Costa Rica, scoring a pair of goals a minute apart.
Huitema was just shy of 14 months old when Sinclair, then 16, made her senior debut on March 12, 2000. Years later Sinclair, who says she has tried to take Huitema under her wing, marvels at HuitemaB次元官网网址檚 development since joining the national team
B次元官网网址淔or me its just seeing her progression,B次元官网网址� Sinclair said. B次元官网网址淐amp to camp, you just see a different soccer player B次元官网网址� a more well-rounded soccer player. Not just an athlete. Yeah, sheB次元官网网址檚 going to be a good one.B次元官网网址�
Away from the pitch, Huitema has been linked on social media to fellow Canadian teenage star Alphonso Davies, now with Bayern Munich. She says theyB次元官网网址檙e only close.
She counts her older brother Brody as one of her major inspirations. A striker, he spent time with Canadian youth teams and captained Duke.
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
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