Article content continued

“You just have to do the work behind the scenes, training is not easy. It’s a lot of great battles and I think in training is where you get better and it’s where you’re going to see your improvement. A lot of the games are not hard games, so training is always the hardest part, playing against top-notch players.”

Buchanan joined the French powerhouse following her graduation from West Virginia University. She has been on the roster since 2017 and is signed through 2022.

Canada is hoping her club success translates internationally at the World Cup. Defence is the strength of the Canadian team with Buchanan playing alongside the likes of Ashley Lawrence, 23, Rebecca Quinn, 23, Shelina Zadorsky, 26, and Allysha Chapman, 30, with one of the best goalkeepers in the world in Stephanie Labbe, 32.

“I feel like this backline has been together for quite a while now,” Buchanan said. “It’s a strong backline that has been together for a good, solid, four years. We’ve been working on dealing with the communication, the line shift, the up and back, just really solidifying all the little details that are very key for a defence.

“Working for four years together, the partnerships are really strong. It’s been very tight and we’re all open and we’re all friends, so it’s easy to communicate because we’re so comfortable and confident with one another.”

The Canadian defenders are also incredibly talented. A big part of their success is their ability to win the ball. Rarely do any defenders get beaten clean, and their ability to one-on-one mark is among the best of any team in the tournament.

With her speed and ability to read the play, rarely does anyone get behind Buchanan, and when they do, she has among the best closing capabilities of anyone in the world.

“I think that also comes from just us believing in each other,” Buchanan said. “It gives us more confidence to step out into a one-vs-one battle, knowing that there is cover behind us, so we’ll give it our all. So there is no hesitation, it’s just focus and dominance when we go to contest a ball, knowing that one of our teammates is going to be behind us to cover if we do get beat.”

dvandiest@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @DerekVanDiest