So it's set. Pretty much.
Barring a bordering-on-inconceivable upset on Tuesday evening, Canada will play Mexico in the semifinals of the Olympic qualifying tournament on Friday night. Win, and we've booked a spot in London 2012. Let's not consider the ramifications of the alternate result.
While Costa Rica provided Big Red with more spirited opposition than Cuba or Haiti did, the result was never in question. But there are still questions to be answered ahead of the all-important Friday-night showdown.
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Questions, as always, start in goal. Karina LeBlanc was in no way culpable when it came to Costa Rica breaking Canada's shutout streak late in the match. But for all of head coach John Herdman's diplomacy when it comes to his two "world-class" goalkeepers, the reality is that he can only choose one of them for the all-important match. Neither LeBlanc nor Erin McLeod have had the chance to prove much in this tournament, given the level of opposition. That being said, who's it going to be vs. Mexico?
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The questions travel through the defence... If there had to be a goat on the Costa Rican goal, it would be Robyn Gayle, who appears simply to have been caught napping. But she's a veteran player who surely understands what went wrong and what needs to be corrected. Elsewhere on the backline, Shannon Woeller is clearly in Herdman's good books, though she did make some less-than-ideal decisions under pressure against Costa Rica. Such errors can often prove to be good learning experiences for young players, but could one such mistake prove costly against Mexico?
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And then they move up front. Christine Sinclair, as you should be well aware by now, is an other-worldly talent. While she potted a pair against the Ticas (a ho-hum night, by her standards), she also provided the platter (complete with cutlery) upon which Kaylyn Kyle's goal was scored, with a pinpoint cross. And yet, as the game went on, and it became clear Sinclair would be playing the full 90, fans began getting antsy. "Why is she still on the field? Shouldn't she be resting?"
Sinclair has improved her fitness tremendously in recent years, with the most ready example being her acceleration. Even so, injuries can happen. And while it's a terrifying prospect, the Canadian team is one Sinclair muscle tweak away from potential calamity. Where do the goals come from, if Sincy is not at full strength?
Canadian fans got a glimpse of the future of team's strike force late in the game, when Christina Julien and Chelsea Buckland found themselves in a 2-on-1 situation. The end result? Not even a shot on goal. A singular anecdote, a sample size far too small for extrapolation, sure. Even so...
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Diana who? Alright, that's an awful question. Diana Matheson is a terrific player, and a stalwart of the Canadian team. But one of the biggest questions heading into the tournament was how the Canadian squad would cope with her absence in midfield, and the answer thus far has been: remarkably well. The trio of Sophie Schmidt, Kelly Parker and Desiree Scott have been dominant in their individual roles, filling the majority of the gaps left when Matheson was ruled out due to injury.
Schmidt, on Monday night, not only received sufficiently-steady applause from the B.C. Place crowd to feel a salute was necessary, she also found her name trending worldwide on Twitter after she scored. Well, she didn't find it; she was too busy focused on actually playing. But the point stands.
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So, what will Vancouver show us on Friday? The Voyageurs contingent in B.C. has been loud and proud for all three of Canada's matches thus far, creating much more atmosphere than a crowd of 8,000 could realistically be expected to produce in a cavernous football stadium. So, what will the city have in store for the semifinal?
It's a Friday night, with a reasonable kickoff time (8 p.m. PT) and plenty of local-ish representation on the team (Sinclair, Buckland, Schmidt, LeBlanc and Brittany Timko). And the storyline is easy to understand: The eminently likable home team can qualify for the Olympic Games with a win.
I saw plenty of Vancouver-based people mulling around on Twitter who were clearly interested in Monday's game, but not in attendance. Support local soccer, folks. That means shelling out for a ticket and making your voice (your actual, physical voice) heard when it matters most.
Now, let's be clear, for all these questions, the resounding 5-1 win also provided plenty of answers. Yes, Canada could regain whatever momentum it lost by only beating Cuba by a pair. Yes, the team could continue rotating its lineup and retain a high level of fluidity and quality. Yes, Sinclair could still be Sinclair.
And yes, it's great to see a Canadian team beat anyone by a score of 5-1. But this tournament has served as one big reminder that the level of disparity in the women's game can still be mighty severe. As has been suggested elsewhere, rolling over opponents such as Haiti, Cuba and Costa Rica with ease does little to prepare Canada for the tests that lie ahead in competitions such as the Olympics and the World Cup.
But as they say, you can only play the team that's put in front of you. And on Friday, that team will almost certainly be Mexico, Canada's sternest test by far. Which leaves us with the all-important question, the one that's been on Canadians' minds for months...
Will this team do what it came to Vancouver to do, and qualify for the Olympics?
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