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After a frustrating and asymmetrical victory over Panama that saw 74 saves according to coach Bev Priestman, Canada will find its rhythm on Monday against Costa Rica at the CONCACAF W Championship in Mexico.
The Canadians, 6th in the standings, won 1-0 on Friday, despite Panama’s weak defensive block, 57th, and their time-wasting tactics. This, combined with a first 6-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago, No. 76, earned Olympic champion Canada a spot for the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand with one organization remaining.
While the Panamanian players fell in a short time, Priestman estimated that the game featured an 80-second block on average, which made it a disjointed affair.
“The most important thing for us now is to go beyond this game,” Priestman said Sunday. “It wasn’t perfect. He did the job. But I think we want a game now where these kinds of antics don’t disturb the pace. “. . . This game is where we can flow and start, because I think we want that control before the games that lie ahead. “
Canadian fullback Ashley Lawrence said he has learned from his first two games of the tournament.
“We perceive that there will be frustrations. But things that in the end are out of our control,” he said. “So, for us, it’s a procedure to stay focused on the things we can control. And that’s our game. ” What we bring. Our taste for the game. How can we impose ourselves on (the) opposition. . . That is what has allowed us to succeed in the past.
The top spot in Group B is up for grabs on Monday at the BBVA Stadium in Monterrey. Costa Rica, ranked 37th, is 2-0-0, as is Canada, beating Panama 3-0 and Trinidad 4-0.
Priestman said he had a player “with a little challenge that we have to evaluate,” but specified who.
Finishing first in the organization means avoiding the united States, the top-ranked, which will conclude Monday’s organizing match against Mexico with a victory in the semifinals. The two North American rivals have met in five of the last 10 CONCACAF women’s finals, with the United States. win all five.
The Canadians won the tournament in 1998 and 2010, beating Mexico in final time. The Americans have won the other 8 editions, adding the last two.
The eight-team tournament is divided into two groups, with the two most sensible to advance to the semi-finals, qualifying directly for the 2023 World Cup in the process. The two third-place groups qualify for the World Cup Intercontinental Qualifiers.
Winning the CONCACAF tournament comes with a price ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics and a spot in the first CONCACAF W Gold Cup in 2024.
The finalist and third team will face off in the Olympic play-in series, scheduled for September 2023, with spots up for grabs for the Olympic Games and the ConcaCAF Gold Cup.
After two games, Canada leads the tournament in shots (39) and corner kicks (18) and is tied on goals (seven).
Costa Rica is led by captain Katherine Alvarado, Raquel (Rocky) Rodriguez (teammate of Canadians Christine Sinclair and Janine Beckie in the NWSL Portland Thorns), Melissa Herrera (FC Girondins de Bordeaux, France) and 36-year-old veteran Shirley Cruz. (before Paris Saint-Germain and NWSL OL Reign).
“They have players,” Priestman said. A strong right aspect that we have to take care of. “
However, Canada won the last 14 with Costa Rica, beating Las Ticas 47-6.
The Canadians last won 1-0 in February 2018, in the semifinals of the 2020 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualification Championship in Carson, California. Jordyn Huitema’s goal in the 72nd minute qualified the Canadians for the Tokyo Olympics.
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This report through The Canadian Press first published on July 10, 2022
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