Eleven days.
That's all that's left between now and the women's national team beginning their Olympic quest, against reigning World Cup champions Japan. In their final prep for the biggest event of the year, Big Red is set to play two more friendlies, starting with head coach John Herdman's former team, New Zealand, on Saturday morning (10:00 a.m. ET, 7:00 a.m. PT on EuroWorld Sport).
And Herdman -- who has put a lot of emphasis on the psychological side of the game ever since joining the team in the aftermath of their World Cup washout last year -- believes his side is ready for what's coming.
"The girls are in a really good space," Herdman said this week from Switzerland, where the team is in training and has already earned a 1-0 warmup victory over Colombia.
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"We've created some tactical blueprints around these games," Herdman said of the team's Olympic round-robin games against Japan, South Africa and Sweden. "Our preparations have been very focused."
The preparations have included an extended residency program in Vancouver during the spring and early summer, which allowed players to train and play games together while also being near family and friends. The team is training in Switzerland for three weeks prior to the tournament, which captain Christine Sinclair described as "the perfect amount of time".
The country's all-time leading goal scorer echoed her coach on the psychological front, saying the team is in a "completely different space" than in the run-up to Germany 2011, when Canada finished with three losses and only a single goal scorer (by Sinclair herself, naturally).
The Olympics are, indeed, a different animal, with Sinclair noting that they "can be overwhelming." But Sinclair and some of her veteran teammates led Canada into the quarterfinals of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing (narrowly losing out to the U.S. in that round), and are looking to use that experience to help themselves, and their teammates.
"It's hard to explain how big (the Olympics are)," Sinclair said earlier this week, though she's hoping the team's core group of veterans can "give (younger players) the guidance that we didn't have four years ago."
To that end, Herdman has established a formalized "leadership structure" within the team, wherein a select group of veteran players are tasked with running their own programs and "(taking) responsibility for their performance." While Herdman declined to identify the leadership group by name, it would be safe to assume that it includes the likes of Sinclair, Diana Matheson and Karina LeBlanc.
But whatever structure may be in place among the players, Herdman has stressed that depth in the squad, and a sense of cohesion, are what could help see Canada through their Olympic group.
"What we've looked at is building a culture internally around connection," said Herdman. "We've been rehearsing this stuff for three months."
Herdman noted that the last time Canada grabbed victory from a Tier 1 team in a major tournament came in 2003, in their upset win over China at the World Cup. Could a similar upset happen at this tournament? Herdman seems to think so, saying his team has united around "one uncompromising goal, which is the podium at the Olympics."
And as for the captain, the team's on- and off-field leader? She's looking at it the same way.
"I have no doubt that we can beat any team, any day," said Sinclair. "Can we do it consistently, in a big tournament? We'll see."
Indeed we will. Eleven days till Japan. But first, New Zealand.
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