While excitement is already bubbling over the quartet of home games the women's national team is scheduled to play in 2014, there's still the small matter of playing in next month's Cyprus Cup.
What does it all mean? Well, you'll get my possibly-unpopular opinion on that shortly, after we roll through what brought everyone here: The roster!
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
GK- Stephanie Labbé | SWE / KIF Örebro DFF
GK- Karina LeBlanc | USA / Chicago Red Stars
GK- Erin McLeod | USA / Houston Dash
D- Robyn Gayle | USA / Washington Spirit
D- Kadeisha Buchanan | USA / West Virginia University
D- Carmelina Moscato | USA / Seattle Reign FC
D- Marie-Eve Nault | SWE / KIF Örebro DFF
D- Lauren Sesselmann | USA / Houston Dash
D- Rhian Wilkinson | Unattached / sans club
D- Emily Zurrer | SWE / Jitex BK
D- Rachel Quon | USA / Chicago Red Stars
M- Kaylyn Kyle | USA / Boston Breakers
M- Diana Matheson | USA / Washington Spirit
M- Sophie Schmidt | USA / Sky Blue FC
M- Desiree Scott | ENG / Notts County Ladies
M- Brittany Baxter | unattached
F- Adriana Leon | USA / Chicago Red Stars
F- Christine Sinclair | USA / Portland Thorns FC
F- Josée Belanger | Unattached / sans club
F- Nkem Ezurike | USA / Boston Breakers
So, yep, as the title suggests, plenty of familiar faces. If you need to know anything about the bulk of this roster, peruse my posts for the last three years, or just plunk "Canada women's soccer team" into Google and you'll probably get plenty. But as for those whose exploits haven't already been documented ad nauseam, some brief remarks:
The fact that Buchanan's inclusion isn't remarkable at this point is, in any of itself, wholly remarkable.
We're likely to see the next chapter in the strange saga of Rachel Quon written in Cyprus. Quon, of course, is the American-born, -bred and -raised player who represented the good old U.S. of A. at various youth levels before <strike>deciding her chances of cracking the American roster were limited compared to her chances of cracking the Canadian roster</strike> she had a sudden swelling of pride for the land where her father was born and applied to FIFA to make the switch. If she plays in Cyprus, it will be her first cap for Canada.
Also looking to earn a first cap is Nkem Ezurike, a 21-year-old striker from Nova Scotia who has represented Canada at the U-15, U-17 and U-20 levels and has been getting her first looks with the senior national team in the last few months. She was picked eighth overall by the Boston Breakers in this year's NWSL draft, coming out of the University of Michigan as the program's all-time leader in goals. Last year, she captained the Wolverines and led the team with 14 goals in 23 appearances.
So, yeah, if you're keeping a "ones to watch" list for the CanWNT, you may wanna add her name, if it isn't already there.
Adriana Leon will one day score a hat trick for the senior national team. I'm going to keep saying this until it happens.
And Josée Belanger... we got a little glimpse of what she can offer in last month's friendly against the Americans. If she can get close to the form she showed during her last go-round with the CanWNT three years ago, she can definitely be an impact player as well (which is why John Herdman pestered her to re-join the program in the first place).
Now, as for the Cyprus Cup itself. Let's be perfectly clear about what it is, and what it isn't.
Its Wikipedia page claims that "it is one of the most prestigious women's football events, alongside the Women's World Cup and Women's Olympic Football". This is true insofar as there are only a finite number of women's football events that take place, while the definition of "prestigious" is infinitely subjective.
But the Cyprus Cup isn't even the most prestigious invitiational women's tournament held annually in March. That title goes to the Algarve Cup, which runs at almost exactly the same time as the Cyprus tournament. Canada hasn't been invited to the Algarve Cup since 2003 -- but we've been to every Cyprus Cup since its creation in 2008, making the final every single time and winning it on three occasions (though not since 2011)!
Cyprus is closing the gap, though. Here's a look at what the top 15 ranked teams in the world will be doing in March:
[TABLE=class: grid, width: 500, align: center]
[TR]
[TD]Rank[/TD]
[TD]Country[/TD]
[TD]Algarve[/TD]
[TD]Cyprus[/TD]
[TD]Neither[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1[/TD]
[TD]USA[/TD]
[TD]x[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2[/TD]
[TD]Germany[/TD]
[TD]x[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3[/TD]
[TD]Japan[/TD]
[TD]x[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4[/TD]
[TD]Brazil[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]x[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]France[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]x[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6[/TD]
[TD]Sweden[/TD]
[TD]x[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]7[/TD]
[TD]Canada[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]x[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]8[/TD]
[TD]Norway[/TD]
[TD]x[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]9[/TD]
[TD]Australia[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]x[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD]North Korea[/TD]
[TD]x[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]11[/TD]
[TD]England[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]x[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]12[/TD]
[TD]Italy[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]x[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]13[/TD]
[TD]Denmark[/TD]
[TD]x[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]14[/TD]
[TD]Netherlands[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]x[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]15[/TD]
[TD]Spain[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]x[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
So, no, the Cyprus isn't a Mickey Mouse tournament, it's got some legitimate competition in it. But it does lend itself to the ready-made analogy of being the Europa League compared to the Champions League of Algarve.
Herdman has repeatedly said Canada's goal is to be in the final of next year's Women's World Cup. The argument can easily be made that any team with legitimate ambitions of being world champions should be playing against the world's elite at every opportunity. And the elite of the elite will be in Portugal, not Cyprus.
Now, it's quite possible that Algarve Cup organizers have simply refused to invite Canada over the past decade. If that's the case, then so be it. The Cyprus Cup is definitely a suitable option as well, and is hardly full of pushovers.
And yes, the Canadian Soccer Association deserves mighty credit for ensuring Canada will get tested against the world's top three teams later this year, in the run-up to the World Cup. So in the specific case of 2014, maybe not being in the Algarve Cup isn't as big a deal as it may normally be.
But the point is, let's not over-emphasize whatever results the team is able to achieve in Cyprus next month. They could win the tournament. Heck, they could win every single game (they've done it before)!
They also won a whole lot of games going into the 2011 Women's World Cup... and how did that turn out? (It's a rhetorical question, but if you don't already know the answer, I suggest remaining in blissful ignorance, lest you spontaneously burst into tears.)
Herdman is expected to offer media availability later this week. I intend to ask him whether the Algarve Cup was an option. (He, presumably, will wonder why I keep asking him the same question year after year, before offering an eloquent and upbeat response).
All that being said, there's never any harm in getting a little excited about the national team playing in a tournament. Surely the players will revel in the opportunity to soak up a bit of sunshine.
But we all know the real main events happen right here in Canada... later this year and then, of course, in 2015.
Canada's Cyprus Cup schedule: Wed. March 5 v. Finland 4:30 a.m. PT/7:30 a.m. ET, Fri. March 7 v. Italy 7:30 a.m. PT/10:30 a.m. ET,, Mon. March 10 v. England 4:30 a.m. PT/7:30 a.m. ET,, Wed. March 12 final game (time, opponent and game depend on group-stage ranking) ... and no, don't expect it to be on television
.