Canadian women going to Rio
The confederation refers to it as a competition.
More accurately, CONCACAF’s women’s Olympic qualifying tournament is a required formality.
Following predictable blowout wins over Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Guatemala this week, Canada secured qualification for the 2016 Olympic Games courtesy of an easy 3-1 win over Costa Rica in Houston.
Having watched Canada score 21 times ahead of Friday night’s semifinal match, the much- weaker Central Americans parked the proverbial bus in what amounted to a training fixture for the 11th- ranked team in the world.
Don’t accept the final score line as an indication of the proceedings. This door-die qualifier was never in question.
Look no further than Costa Rica’s final stat line — no shots on target — for a more accurate portrayal of the action.
“It wasn’t tight at all,” Canadian head coach John Herdman told Sportsnet’s sideline crew at full- time. “( We) owned that game. I thought we were phenomenal tonight.
“I’m proud of them. There were a lot of nerves and pressure on us for sure.”
When the Costa Rican defence failed to deal with a cross from Josee Belanger in the 17 th minute, the ball bounced to a wide- open Christine Sinclair, who scored past Dinnia Diaz after collecting the ball off her chest.
With arms wide open, Sinclair ran toward the Canadian bench as Herdman turned with a double fistpump aimed at his staff and players.
Minutes after halftime, Sinclair repeated her celebration at the opposite end when she took advantage of another calamitous mistake from the Costa Rican defence.