USWNT, Canada on course to secure expected Olympic berths
The No. 1-ranked United States women's national team and No. 11-ranked Canada are both through to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship. This puts the top two CONCACAF teams on a course to secure berths to the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The U.S. women's national soccer team will face Trinidad & Tobago on Friday at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, while Canada will face Costa Rica. The winners of both matches will automatically qualify for a spot in the Brazil Olympic soccer tournament. The two CONCACAF qualifiers for Rio will join France, Germany, Colombia, Brazil, South Africa, Zimbabwe and New Zealand.
The reigning 2015 Women's World Cup champs are undefeated against T&T (9-0-0) and have outscored them 61-2 over the course of their rivalry. The two teams last met on Dec. 10, when the U.S. women's Victory Tour took them to San Antonio. The U.S. defeated T&T 6-0 behind Christen Press' hat trick. The U.S. outshot Trindad and Tobago 29-1 in that contest.
The U.S. won its group by defeating Costa Rica, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Despite a lot of change in the roster, and an influx of younger players, the U.S. side has already melded into a pretty exciting and potent team. Carli Lloyd, Crystal Dunn, Christen Press and Alex Morgan have led the scoring, while newcomers Lindsey Horan, 21, at center midfield and teenager Mallory Pugh, who turns 18 in April, have made an immediate impact with their unique and considerable skills.
Canada, meanwhile, is the favorite against Costa Rica, the 34th-ranked team according to the FIFA world rankings. John Herdman's side blasted their way into the semifinals with a 10-0 win over Guatemala Wednesday night in Houston. Canada's Rebecca Quinn and Nichelle Prince each collected hat tricks, while veteran Melissa Tancredi struck for a brace. Gabrielle Carle and Janine Beckie each added a goal.
Canada is looking to redeem themselves after a disappointing 2015 Women's World Cup. As the host team, Christine Sinclair & Co. carried high expectations of a country that has eagerly embraced its national women's soccer team. However, Canada suffered a bitter quarterfinal loss to England after failing to get their attack untracked. Since then, it has been all about the 2016 Summer Games for Herdman and his side.
"Hopefully (we can put) position ourselves to defend our Olympic bronze medal this summer in Rio," Herdman said, adding: "We had a strong group of players to select from, which made the final selection extremely challenging, but we have put together a team that will go out there and get the job done, which is simply to make this country proud by qualifying for Rio 2016."
While Canada should be able to get through to the final, Canada must get past an appealing team in Costa Rica. Las Ticas are coming off their first-ever Women's World Cup appearance in 2015, where they did not advance out of group play. Costa Rica is headlined by former Penn State standout Raquel Rodriguez, who has won just about every individual trophy in women's collegiate soccer, including the Mac Hermann Trophy in 2015. Rodriguez led the Nittany Lions to the 2015 NCAA title and was the No. 2 pick in the National Women's Soccer League draft by Sky Blue FC.
Along with midfielder Shirley Cruz, a professional player at Paris Saint-Germain in the women's French first division league, Rodriguez has been able to raise the level of the entire Costa Rica women's team. However, it's tough to see how the CONCACAF final will not pair the U.S. against their North American rival.
Canada is still smarting after its bitter semifinal loss to the U.S. in the 2012 London Olympics. A Canada vs. U.S. finale here in Texas -- with both teams headed for Brazil -- would be a showcase match, indeed.
