Canada's never finished lower than second place in the five-year history of the Cyprus Cup tournament -- and they'll be looking to keep that streak alive once the 2013 edition kicks off next month.
With reigning champions France not taking part in this year's tournament, Canada comes in as the highest-ranked nation (#7) and prohibitive favourites, having won the tournament in 2008, 2010 and 2011. Big Red will contest Group B alongside 26th-ranked Switzerland (March 6), 19th-ranked Finland (March 8) and the 14th-ranked Netherlands (March 11).
Winning Group B would set up a championship showdown with the winner of Group A (England [#8], Italy [#11], New Zealand [#21], Scotland [#23]) on March 13.
But before we get ahead of ourselves, let's take a look at the 25-woman roster head coach John Herdman will bring into the pre-tournament camp:
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
GK- Stephanie Labbé | SWE / KIF Örebro DFF
GK- Karina LeBlanc | USA / Portland Thorns FC
GK- Erin McLeod | USA / Chicago Red Stars
CB- Kadeisha Buchanan | CAN / Erin Mills Mighty Eagles U-16
CB- Carmelina Moscato | USA / Chicago Red Stars
CB- Lauren Sesselmann | USA / FC Kansas City
CB- Emily Zurrer | USA / Seattle Reign FC
FB- Melanie Booth | USA / Sky Blue FC
FB- Robyn Gayle | USA / Washington Spirit
FB- Ashley Lawrence | CAN / Erin Mills Mighty Eagles
FB- Bryanna McCarthy | USA / Western New York Flash
FB- Chelsea Stewart | USA / UCLA
FB- Rhian Wilkinson | USA / Boston Breakers
M- Tiffany Cameron | USA / Seattle Reign FC
M- Jonelle Filigno | USA / Rutgers University
M- Kaylyn Kyle | USA / Seattle Reign FC
M- Diana Matheson | USA / Washington Spirit
M- Christabel Oduro |
M- Jodi-Ann Robinson | USA / Western New York Flash
M- Sophie Schmidt | USA / Sky Blue FC
M- Desiree Scott | USA / FC Kansas City
M- Brittany Timko |
F- Christina Julien |
F- Adriana Leon | USA / Boston Breakers
F- Christine Sinclair | USA / Portland Thorns FC
TOURNAMENT NOTES:
- Sinclair will miss the opening game against Switzerland as she serves the fourth and final game of the suspension she picked up for comments made after last year's Olympic semifinal match against the U.S.
- The youth movement continues for Canada, with Buchanan, Lawrence, Cameron and Leon sticking around after making their senior-team debuts at the Yongchuan Cup in January. Leon scored her first goal for the senior team in that tournament, and could get a shot as a starter in Sinclair's absence. Oduro, 20, was first called into a CanWNT camp in 2012.
- Labbe is back with the team for the first time since last year's Cyprus Cup. It was believed she had stepped away from the national team, but those who remember her play during the 2010 Gold Cup will likely be pleased to see her back in the fold.
- Melissa Tancredi continues taking time away from the national team to pursue other ventures, including her education. And while nothing is set in stone about her future, she did tell CSN back in December that she doesn't feel she's done with the sport.
- The team is set to arrive in Cyprus on Monday to begin their camp. There will be cuts to this roster prior to the final tournament roster being announced.
- To those unfamiliar with the Cyprus Cup, a warning: Do not expect these games to be on TV. This is not a conspiracy. This is not Canadian broadcasters failing in their duties to promote the game. The reality is that these games are attended by, literally, dozens of people -- and happen in a fairly remote location. For what it's worth, choppy, quasi-legal webstreams have been available in years past; if I discover any, I'll share via Twitter.
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