We're clearly entering dark days for the women's national team -- with a 1-0 loss to England on Wednesday in the final, Canada is now in the midst of its longest Cyprus Cup championship drought in tournament history...
... oh, it's only two years? Hmm. Maybe we'll be alright, then.
A second-half strike from Rachel Yankey was enough to give her squad some retribution for last year's Olympic quarterfinal -- and while this was meant to be the space for another "mostly fabricated synopsis" of the match (in line with the ones from Canada's first, second and third games of the tourney), the truth is that a loss kinda saps your willingness to read one, and my willingness to write one.
So, instead, let's see what lessons -- if any -- we can draw from a tournament we could barely see, and what it might mean for Big Red in the coming years.
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Now, if you're desperate for some very basic game details right now, you can get them from the CSA's Twitter stream, which is where any of us have gotten live game info from during the tournament. The biggest talking points from the match -- other than the result -- are that Sophie Schmidt and Carmelina Moscato were both substituted out of the game due to injuries (update via CSA: Moscato suffered a rib injury; Schmidt was taken out as a precaution).
But as for the tournament as a whole, some other talking points we'll be left with:
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The kid is alright: The fact that 18-year-old Kadeisha Buchanan started every game, including the final, in the centre of defence is a testament to the promise that head coach John Herdman sees in her. It will be interesting to see whether she gets a shot in Canada's upcoming friendlies, including the high-profile showdown with the U.S. in June.
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The three-headed beast: A new combination appears to have been solidified in the Canadian attack, in the form of Christine Sinclair, Jonelle Filigno and Adriana Leon. Leon, still just 20, has a skill set comparable to Melissa Tancredi's, while Filigno has a wealth of national-team experience despite being just 22. While the attack fell short in the tournament final, the idea of these three clicking together in the future is a tantalizing prospect for Canadian fans.
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Stuck in the middle: In the last few years, the makeup of the Canadian midfield has become as reliable as clockwork: Diana Matheson, Sophie Schmidt and Desiree Scott, usually accompanied by Kaylyn Kyle. And while those four featured heavily in the Cyprus Cup (though usually only three of them at a time, thanks to the aforementioned three-headed beast at forward), Herdman also attempted to integrate a pair of youngsters, Ashley Lawrence and Christabel Oduro. Another two to keep our eyes on in the run-up to 2015 (and, in Lawrence's case, next year's U20 Women's World Cup).
Now, the biggest talking point from the Cyprus Cup is the fact that Canada is still in the Cyprus Cup.
The tournament's been around for six years, and Canada's made the final each time (winning it thrice). Canada came into this year's tournament as the highest-ranked team (#7 in the world, according to FIFA), with #8-ranked England right on their heels. Those who've seen highlights of Canada's games have noticed there have been literally no spectators visible in the stands; when I joked that the attendance for Canada's opening game was 25, one national-team player said she'd be surprised if it were that many.
Herdman said prior to the final that he was happy Canada was playing England in the final, as they were the toughest opponent available. He's said on numerous occasions since his hiring that he wants Canada playing the most difficult opposition available, as frequently as possible, as a means of preparing the team for future Olympic tournaments and World Cups.
He's right, of course -- and that's why I'll repeat what I've been saying for years: Despite the result in Wednesday's final, Canada has outgrown the Cyprus Cup. It's time to get back to the Algarve Cup.
The Algarve Cup, which has been played since 1994, can be considered the Champions League compared to the Europa League that is the Cyprus Cup. The 2013 Algarve Cup final was also played on Wednesday, in which the USA (world #1) earned a 2-0 win over Germany (#2). Other participating nations included Japan (#4), Sweden (#6) and Norway (#12) -- who defeated the reigning World Cup champion Japanese by a score of 2-0 in the round-robin stage.
The Algarve Cup is an invitational tournament in which Canada hasn't participated since 2003. But it has history. It draws crowds -- and the world's top teams. And, perhaps most appealing to Canadian fans, its games are regularly available via web streams.
That's right -- no more following games via live tweeting. And no more insufferable "mostly fabricated synopses".
There are surely backroom reasons for why Canada hasn't been at the Algarve Cup in a decade. Perhaps Canada wants to be there but hasn't gotten the invitation. Perhaps the CSA prefers the Cyprus Cup for its own reasons. I've never gotten a clear answer to that on the occasions I've asked before -- but with increased coverage of, and interest in, the women's national team since London 2012, undoubtedly it's a question that will be asked more frequently.
Still, a second-place finish at any tournament for a team in transition is nothing to be sneezed at (we are Canada, after all), so kudos to the ladies for their efforts over the past week and a half.
And Big Red won't need to wait long for another shot at the English -- the two teams will face off in a friendly on April 7, a few days after Canada matches up with France, on April 4.
Here's hoping there'll be some way to watch those games live -- because it's been far too long since we've been able to see our Olympic medalists do what they do best.
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