The quest for a three-peat begins on Tuesday with a match against Scotland. But for all intents and purposes, the real focus is on the anticipated final against France, which would be Canada's first chance to avenge the humiliating 4-0 thrashing it suffered at last summer's Women's World Cup.
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Now, of course, hubris can be dangerous in sports. Canada's group in Cyprus will provide a much sterner test than the CONCACAF minnows they strolled past in Vancouver last month, and nothing is guaranteed. Scotland is ostensibly the group's weakest team, ranked #22 in the world, while Italy is at #11 and the Netherlands (whom Canada defeated in the final of last year's Cyprus Cup) come in ranked #14.
Canada currently sits at #7, but is not the global powerhouse it once was, as the women's game achieves greater worldwide parity with each passing year. Perhaps the clearest measure of that is the fact that Canada is playing in Cyprus Cup at all, rather than the concurrent Algarve Cup. The 2012 edition of the Portugal-based invitational tournament features four of the world's top five teams (the U.S., Germany, Sweden and World Cup champion Japan), and kicks off on Wednesday.
Canada used to be a part of the Algarve Cup, finishing in fourth place in 2001, but hasn't received the invite since 2003.
This is not to dismiss the Cyprus Cup; the tournament does include five of the world's top 15 nations, according to current FIFA rankings. It's certainly not a knock on the Canadian players; they, as with any athletes, can only play the competition that's put in front of them. And it's not even a knock on the CSA; if the folks at the Algarve don't feel like inviting Canada, then we may as well take the time to compete against other, good-level competition.
But to those who've developed a rabid interest in the team in the last little while, know that the Cyprus Cup is not steeped in glory or long-running tradition. The fact that there's no coverage of the tournament isn't an outrage, or some anti-soccer conspiracy by broadcasters. It's because this is a five-year-old, second-tier tournament that routinely attracts crowds in the dozens.
That's not to say there's no value in competing and winning. Any addition to the Canadian soccer trophy case is a welcome one. Thing is, that's by no means guaranteed this time out. Far from it. Canada's status as two-time defending champions notwithstanding, the tournament favourite would have to be the emergent, exciting squad from France, who dazzled the world with their skill at Germany 2011, en route to a fourth-place finish.
France (#6) finds itself in a group with England (#8), Finland (#20) and Switzerland (#25). Should they emerge atop their round-robin group, and Canada does the same, the final showdown is set. (Of course, if one of those fails to happen, the final will still be set; it will just involve different teams.)
Though a failure to make the final would raise some serious questions in the lead-up to the London Olympics, a loss in the Cyprus Cup final to France would not be devastating to the Canadian program (so long as it's a somewhat more balanced game than the Bochum Blowout last June). While that 4-0 loss to France at the World Cup, or the 4-0 loss to the Americans at the Olympic qualifiers, are ugly results on paper, they are more useful to the squad, in the long run, than rolling over the likes of Haiti or Cuba.
Playing against the strongest teams, regularly, is what Canada must do to reestablish itself as a true global force in the women's game. Only by doing so will they learn what is necessary to take that next step.
Winning the Cyprus Cup again would be a great result for Canada, no question, particularly if it involved a redemptive victory over the French. But every game, every tournament, every result at this point is a build-up to the showcase event, the 2015 Women's World Cup, which we will be hosting. Finishing among the bottom-feeders in that tournament, on home soil, with the world's attention on us, is simply not an option.
So every opportunity Canada has to push itself, challenge itself and test its limits heading into 2015 is an opportunity they must take. If the Canadian team can propel itself to another victory in Cyprus, perhaps the folks at the Algarve will take notice. Or perhaps teams such as Brazil or North Korea will consider participation in Cyprus next year. Or perhaps it will get encourage the USSF to book more friendlies against its cross-border rivals.
None of this is to suggest that the 2012 Cyprus Cup is irrelevant, or can't be enjoyed on its own merits. Canadian success would surely be worthy of praise. But ultimately, this tournament is part of the long game for the women's national team, on the winding road to Canada 2015.
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