Canada finished 5th in Cyprus.
It's a bit of a fall from grace for a team that has won the tournament several times in the past. But, that's the past. It's been three years now since Canada won the second most important annual women's soccer tournament.
At least they finished fifth in style, I guess. A 90th minute winner propelled the Canucks over the 33rd ranked Republic of Ireland. That would be one of those "tier 3" teams John Herdman talks about (and correctly says that Canada should easily handle). The 33rd ranked women's team is equatable to a men's team ranked in the 100s.
So, a win's a win a win and all that, but sometimes you have to be blunt in putting a result in context.
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Beating the Republic of Ireland with a late goal is simply not good enough. It's especially not good enough if you believe, as Herdman constantly tells us, that Canada is competing in the 2015 World Cup to win.
In fairness, Herdman has been critical of the lack of results recently. Whereas he stressed building over absolute results in the immediate aftermath of the Olympics, he has said recently that he needs the women to start getting results.
Results have not been forthcoming. In seven games against top 10 opposition this year Canada has no wins on five losses. They haven't scored a goal against top opponents since April 4, 2013 and have been outscored 9-1 in those seven games.
In fact, the five of the six wins they have this last year are against teams ranked 17th or lower. Italy (No 12) is the highest ranked victory Canada has claimed this past year.
Does that sound like a team close to winning a World Cup?
Supporters of the program will point to the team's bronze medal run in London. They will also ignore that Canada really only played one complete game in that tournament (quarters against Team GB) and advanced as one of the best third place teams.
The bronze was a remarkable story, but there was no shortage of straight-up luck involved in winning it. It would be a mistake to think it represented a long-term breakthrough by the program. It was something closer to a reward for a mid-level team that had always been around.
Up until now, Herdman has almost completely escaped any criticism. At some point fans have to ask themselves why that is. He is undoubtably a charming guy that is very good with the media. My girlfriend tells me he's easy on her eyes as well. Is it possible the good press he is getting is related to those factors and not his actual performance?
That question becomes even more interesting when you compare coverage of Herdman to his predecessor Carolina Morace, a woman who was gruff with the media and likely not as traditionally photogenic. Media was quickly to attack Morace when results started to slip, but so far remain nearly 100 percent behind Herdman.
I'm not willing to fully place the blame on Herdman, but, at this point, it's fair to spread some blame around.
It's clear this is Herdman's team and direction. It's time to move the focus away for the charm and judge him on his results.
It's just 450 days until the start of the World Cup...