Team Canada has moved one step closer to qualifying for the 2019 Women’s World Cup of Soccer in France. On Thursday in Frisco, Texas, Canada won Group B with a 3-1 win over Costa Rica.
Three players scored for Team Canada. They were Janine Beckie of Regina, Saskatchewan, Nichelle Prince of Ajax, Ontario and Christine Sinclair of Burnaby, British Columbia. Prince scored the game winning goal for Canada at the 40 minute mark to put Canada up 2-0 at the time. Beckie opened the scoring in the 25th minute and Sinclair put Canada up 3-0 in the 57th minute. Gloriana Villalobos scored for Costa Rica in the 73rd minute to pull them within two goals.
With the loss and the 9-0 win by Jamaica over Cuba, Costa Rica was surprisingly eliminated from advancing to the semifinals of the tournament. Costa Rica had advanced to the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada and had beaten Canada 2-0 at the 2015 Pan American Games in Hamilton, Ontario.
Canada will now play Panama in one of the two semifinals on Sunday. The other semifinal has the United States versus Jamaica. The winners of the semifinals will qualify for the 2019 Women’s World Cup of Soccer in France. The losers of the semifinal still have a chance however. They will then play in a third place playoff on Wednesday. The winner of that game also goes to the 2019 Women’s World Cup of Soccer in France, while the loser of the consolation final will play a team from South America for another chance to qualify.
