By Canadian Press

Olympic berth on the line for Canadian women as they face Costa Rica in California

Feb 8, 2020 | 11:32 AM

CARSON, Calif. — Coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller is throwing out the form chart as eighth-ranked Canada takes on No. 37 Costa Rica in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship on Friday, with a berth in the Olympics on the line.

The Canadian women have never lost to Costa Rica, outscoring the Central Americans 45-6 in winning all 13 matches between the two.

“We’re not fighting history,” Heiner-Moller said. “Every match has got its own story and the match we’re playing them (Friday) is a totally different one.

“It’s a strong side and they have got some tricky wingers we need to deal with … But we’ll be ready,” the Dane added.

Heiner-Moller said the Costa Ricans will be prepared, given they rested some key players in their last match.

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The winner advances to Sunday’s final against either the top-ranked Americans or No. 26 Mexico who meet in the late game Friday at Dignity Health Sports Park.

Both semifinal winners book their ticket to Tokyo, representing the region that covers North and Central America and the Caribbean.

“We know what’s at stake,” said Heiner-Moller.

“Ninety minutes, I know we’ll have butterflies in our stomachs, all of us. But that’s what we live for,” he added.

Canada has finished runner-up to the U.S. in the last three CONCACAF Olympic qualifiers and won bronze at the last two Olympics.

Costa Rica beat No. 53 Panama 6-1 and No. 68 Haiti 2-0 before falling 6-0 to the U.S. in its final group game in Houston.

The Canadians defeated No. 127 St. Kitts and Nevis 11-0, No. 51 Jamaica 9-0 and Mexico 2-0 in round-robin play in Edinburg, Texas.

“Overall on the performance here over the three matches, I’m very proud of the team,” Heiner-Moller said after the Mexico win. “Coming here and getting nine points, having 22 to zip in goal-scoring, it sounds and looks convincing and maybe it is, but it’s not easy. It’s very hard work and I’m happy about that.”

Captain Christine Sinclair, who became the world’s all-time leading goal-scorer with a pair of goals against St. Kitts, goes into Friday’s game on 186 goals. She already has 11 career goals against Costa Rica.

The 36-year-old from Burnaby, B.C., has scored in 131 international matches, with Canada winning 100 of those.

Canada leads the tournament in goals (22), goals average (7.3), assists (15), shots (78), passes (1,416) and pass effectiveness (90 per cent)

Jordyn Huitema, 18, leads all players with six goals. Fellow Canadians Deanne Rose, 20, and Jayde Riviere, 19, are tied for most assists with three apiece.

Brazil, Great Britain, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Sweden have already qualified for the Olympics, joining host Japan in the 12-country field.

Cameroon and Zambia meet in a home-and-away series in early March with the winner joining the Olympic field. The loser will face CONMEBOL runner-up Chile in an intercontinental playoff in April.

Two more teams will come out of Asia, from Australia, China, Chinese Taipei, Myanmar, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2020.

The Canadian Press