For Norway, the loss was brutal, as it dropped the team to 1-2 (5-8), all but assuring the team that it won’t be clinching any spot in the final two spots of the group, barring some sort of collapse by Team USA.
For Canada, the match went pretty smoothly, as Norway never really threatened to do much damage against them. Plenty of stellar moments came from the game, but one moment in particular stood out as a reminder of just why Canada is so good. That moment came on Ilios, the opening map of their match. After a surprisingly back-and-forth start to things, Team Norway had taken a slight lead over Canada thanks to a great use of a Barrage by Track and his Pharah.
Down for the first time, Team Canada didn’t worry at all, opting to stick to their plan of slowly but surely attacking the point. The team had its Sombra (Surefour), Lucio (Bani), and D.Va (Note) all jump into the zone, which triggered Norway’s Zenyatta (Ipn) to fly in and use his Transcendence.
After Norway took the initial bait, Canada truly struck, as Surefour, Xqc (Winston), and Agilities (Pharah) all began pouring in, and what followed was a pretty quick and easy team kill for the Canadian team.
While there was still some time to be played in the match, the team kill from Canada allowed them to retake the point and began building a lead that they would not relinquish. Not only did it show their poise in critical moments, but it also showed just how well they can play as a team. Coming into the World Cup, it’s often tough for teams to get together and have instant chemistry, but Canada seems unfazed by all of that, and is putting together a strong case for one of the best teams this World Cup has to offer.
