Just a month ago, Gabrielle Carle said that if she had been selected for the World Cup, it would have been a bit like “the icing on the cake”. But, in the meantime, she received a call inviting her to the World Cup and her vision of things changed. Now the competition will be more like the whole cake.
“There, it is not necessarily the icing on the cake anymore, since it is the reality. And since this is the reality, there is work to be done. It becomes a lot more the cake than the cherry, “illustrated the Quebecer a few days before the World Cup.
The 24-year-old full-back was not expecting to take part in her second World Cup. In fact, she was not chosen for the Canadian team selection camp, held in June, for the competition whose scope cannot be matched. The other 22 players who will be part of the adventure participated in said camp.
Not appearing on the list of players summoned to the camp is synonymous with a cut. A non-selection which was “hard” to take at the start for Carle. It worked its way through, however, and ultimately she was “at peace with the decision.”
But once the mourning was over, life surprised her.
In the final days of camp, versatile defender Jade Rose fell in battle. The verdict: unavailable for Worlds. At this point, the head coach of the Canadian team, Bev Priestman, decided to call in a young player with a great background. The player in question was the native of Lévis.
The process started “very quickly”, according to Carle.
“I didn’t know Jade Rose had hurt herself when I got a text message saying Bev wanted to call me at 11:00 p.m. Then at that point, I had no idea what was going on, so I didn’t have time to think about possible scenarios. I got called and heard the news. It was direct and I didn’t have time to think about the situation, ”says Carle, very smiling, by videoconference.
And this “big shock wave” turned the Canadian’s evening upside down. Rather than heading to San Diego to face the Wave there, Carle was not going to follow her teammates from the Washington Spirit and was going to head for Australia.
“Initially, I wonder how it’s going to work, all this. Because there, I have three days to prepare everything. I have to repack my entire suitcase. I have to cancel appointments… I had flights planned for Quebec to see my family and friends. So there was all that playing in my head. I would say initially I was quite stressed,” she laughs.
“But for sure I was incredibly grateful,” added the one who has been on the national team program since she was 17.
Despite his young age, it is not the experience that is lacking for the side. She took part in the World Cup in France in 2019, then in the Olympics in 2021. After the Maple Leaf triumph at the Games, she knows exactly what the team needs to be crowned champions again.
“I’m going to prioritize the team,” she notes. In tournaments like this, the individual is less important than the collective, that’s for sure. Me, I come here with no expectations, because I had to be with my family and friends! »
This is the right mentality on the international scene. Especially in the coming weeks, when Carle should be called upon to support Allysha Chapman and Jayde Riviere.
However, self-sacrifice should not always be advocated, especially in a club. You also have to play for the name behind the jersey. After a successful first professional season in Sweden with the Kristianstads DFF, the Canadian made the jump to one of the most renowned championships in the world, that of the United States, the NWSL.
“When I decided to go to the United States, it was with the aim of seeking a similar caliber of play to international matches. To go play against attackers who are part of their national team and offer a big challenge. To be in the NWSL and to play every game, it gives me a lot of experience and it makes me progress quite quickly. »
The result was very conclusive and his good performances were rewarded. A few days after his cut from the Canadian team, the Spirit granted him a three-year contract extension, accompanied by an option year in 2026.
This little boost in morale, combined with the ensuing World Cup call-up, will ensure that while the next few weeks won’t be a piece of cake, she will get some enjoyment out of it.
Even if she is well aware that she will be full of lasting memories in the coming weeks, Gabrielle Carle makes it clear that she does not intend to be bewitched by the majesty of Oceania and the World Cup. “Of course there’s always a part of me that’s going to think like that, that’s amazing and a dream come true, but that’s the part of me that I have to keep quiet during this kind of tournament, she philosophizes. It’s a part that’s too fangirl and not exactly what you want when you show up on the pitch to play a World Cup match. This part of me, I have it, I will always have it, but I bring it out more in retrospect after the tournaments to tell myself that it really happened and that it is crazy what you are going through. But during: no. »
