Draw set for Women’s World Cup qualifiers

Canada has been drawn in a preliminary round group with Costa Rica, Jamaica and Cuba at next month’s CONCACAF Women’s Championship. The soccer tournament, which runs from Oct. 4 to 17 in North Carolina and Texas, serves as a World Cup qualifier for the region. The top three finishers will qualify automatically for the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France. The fourth-place team will meet Argentina in a playoff to see who joins them. The Canadian women are currently ranked fifth in the world compared to No. 33 for Costa Rica, No. 71 for Jamaica and No. 85 Cuba.