When a 19-year-old commits an error that causes her national team to lose their opening match at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, it would be understandable if, when reluctantly presenting herself to the media afterwards, her head was bowed, her eyes were red and she had difficulty expressing herself clearly.

But Kailen Sheridan is not the type to let discouragement get the better of her or to shirk from her duties, and it was with her head held high and a smile on her face that she analysed her performance in the company of FIFA.com.

“Of course I made a mistake - I failed to hold onto the ball,” admitted the Canadian goalkeeper following the host nation’s 1-0 defeat by Ghana, referring to a shot that she parried directly to the feet of Sherifatu Sumaila, who promptly knocked the ball into the back of the net.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t make a clean and decisive save, and that led to the goal. But you have to bounce back from these mishaps. At the time, it really affected me, but you quickly put it out of your mind and concentrate on the match. You’ve got no choice, as the game doesn’t just stop right there and then,” she continued.

Indeed, there were still 70-odd minutes of the Group A encounter remaining at that point, during which Sheridan performed admirably. She was helped out by her team-mates, who shared her disappointment but also the responsibility for the loss.

“It’s always going to be someone’s fault: I should have stopped the ball, I should have made sure the forward was marked, I should have done this, I should have done that,” she said.

“You can find all manner of things that I should have done better, but in the end, it’s a collective mistake. Of course I should have held it, but someone should have prevented the shot from coming in and someone should have been quicker to react to the rebound. Everyone was involved in conceding the goal.”

There is no question of accusations being thrown around; on the contrary, cohesion and teamwork are the hallmarks of the Canadian XI. “We were able to fight back as a team, and as soon as the final whistle went, we had a good chat about it,” explained the Clemson University custodian.

“We agreed that we either forget about it or we discuss it at a later date. But for the moment, we’re still in the running and we’re focusing on our upcoming match with Finland. My team-mates can be sure that I’ll be ready for it.”

Growing respect

A keen student of the game, the North American shot-stopper is well aware of the importance of her role at Canada 2014.

“During the World Cup in Brazil, there were some incredible goalkeeping performances – some of them were among the best players of the tournament,” she said, revealing her admiration for Manuel Neuer and Joe Hart - for their “immense presence in the box” - as well as for Karina LeBlanc and Erin McLeod, her counterparts in Canada’s senior side.

“I’m very glad it’s now being viewed as a crucial position within the team. In the past, the goalkeeper was the one who wasn’t good enough to play outfield. Nowadays, the keeper could be a team’s best player.”

This is a conviction that Sheridan has held for many years. At the age of eight, like the majority of young football enthusiasts, she preferred scoring goals rather than saving shots.

“When I was young, I started off playing up front,” she recalled. “In my team, no-one wanted to play in goal, so everyone had to take a turn. When it was my turn, I ended up performing quite well, and I enjoyed it. When I was asked if I wanted to stay in goal, I made the right choice."