Canada's national women's soccer team has one final test before its biggest tournament since the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Canada takes on Brazil in a friendly Sunday at TD Place in Ottawa (live on TSN5 at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT). The teams will also play in a closed-door game on Tuesday. This is the team's final tune-up before the 2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship begins in October, which serves as qualifying for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France.
"It's our last game until it really kicks off for us with World Cup qualifying, the most important tournament we've had in a few years," said captain Christine Sinclair. "To test ourselves against one of the best teams in the world, to see where we're at, and what we need to work on heading into qualifiers – it's going to be massive for us."
"It's important for us to perform, but the most important thing is for us to come out of this camp confident. I think we're building on confidence every time we're on the pitch, and we need to do that in the game," said head coach Kenneth Heiner-Møller.
The CONCACAF championship begins Oct. 4, with the Canadians playing in Group B out of Edinburg, Texas. They earned an automatic berth into the tournament, along with the United States and Mexico. Costa Rica, Panama, Jamaica and Cuba will also participate, with one more team from the Caribbean still to qualify. It's unknown at this point which teams will be in Canada's group. The draw for the final tournament will be held on Tuesday.
The top three teams in that event will qualify for next year's World Cup. Canada has missed only one Women's World Cup – the very first tournament in 1991. Brazil already solidified their spot in the World Cup by winning the Copa América Femenina earlier this year.
"It's huge," centre back Shelina Zadorsky said of Sunday's match. "We're fortunate to have it right on home soil in front of our fans. But I think just having that tier-one test against a great side, a side who has incredible attackers – I think it will be a challenge, but it's a challenge we're looking forward to. We're looking to get the result and bring that confidence moving into qualifiers."
"We never lose sight of our long-term objectives," said fullback Ashley Lawrence. "We know that qualification is coming up next month, and also World Cup next year, so we never lose sight of that. But for us, we take it one day at a time. It's recognizing that we can't rush the process."
This is Canada's first meeting with Brazil since beating the South Americans 2-1 in the bronze-medal match at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Canada, ranked fifth in the world, has won three of the last four meetings with No. 7 Brazil, including a 1-0 win at TD Place in June of 2016. Forward Janine Beckie scored the lone goal in that game deep into stoppage time.
"Their backline shut off, and I was there," Beckie recalled. "So hopefully that happens again."
When looking back on their battle for bronze in Rio, Sinclair remembers one thing clearly: "Being exhausted at the end. We definitely fought for that one, especially being in Brazil."
"I just remember the atmosphere. Playing in Rio, playing in Brazil against the host nation – it was incredible. I just saw a sea of yellow. I couldn't hear the player next to me," added Lawrence.
Brazil will be without their superstar, Marta, for Sunday's match after she suffered a left thigh injury during training with her NWSL club, Orlando Pride. But Heiner-Møller said her absence won't change Canada's preparation.
"That team will (lose) one very good, skillful fast player and they'll put another one in. They've got so many very good individual players. Marta is one of the best in the world. Because she's a leader as well, it's not too good for them, but it doesn't change how we approach the game."
Canada's own superstar, Sinclair, currently has 173 international goals, 11 back of tying American Abby Wambach for the most all-time. But personal records aren't a concern for Sinclair.
"It only gets in my mind when you guys start talking about it," she said with a smile.
At 35, Sinclair is having a standout season with the Portland Thorns in the NWSL. She has nine goals this season, fifth-most in the league, and is tied for second in league assists with six. After co-captaining Portland to the championship last year, she has started all 23 games this season.
Sinclair attributes her longevity to lessons learned during her storied career.
"When I was young, you think you can do everything, and you try to do everything. It doesn't always work out," she said. "I think I am a lot more diligent in my prep, and what I do in the off-season. That's allowed me to keep playing."
The upcoming qualifiers will be the biggest test to date for Heiner-Møller, who took over from John Herdman earlier this year. Canada is 3-3-0 this year under Heiner- Møller, with all three losses coming against top-10 teams (Germany, France and Sweden).
"We've had some very good performances, and then definitely our season low in France (a 1-0 loss)," said Heiner-Møller. "That's a good reminder – we cannot just cruise around the best opponents in the world. We need to perform every time we're on the pitch."
Heiner-Møller continues to experiment with his lineup and his formations. In Canada's last game, a friendly against Germany in June, Heiner-Møller rolled out a 3-5-2 formation, a tactic rarely implemented by the team in the past. Although they lost that game 3-2, the players believe the change in formation was a success.
"Something about the players we've got fits so (well) into this system," said Heiner-Møller. "We need to develop it. We learned a lot against Germany. So next time we do it will be even better."
"I think it adds another dynamic to our team, especially heading into qualifiers when you play five games so quickly," Sinclair told TSN. "Just having another ace up our sleeves in terms of making other teams second-guess what we might be doing. I think that formation suits us playing some of the opposition we'll face in qualifiers."
For this game, Heiner-Møller has named five teenagers to the roster, including several Under-17 aged players from the EXCEL program.
"They're here because they're good enough. They're not here because they're young and for their development," said Heiner-Møller. "And we assess them to find out: could they be a part of World Cup qualifying, and beyond that?"
"On this team, everyone's an equal," said Sinclair. "It doesn't matter if you've been here for 10 years or if this is your first camp. It's one thing we pride ourselves on: creating that welcoming environment, being a family."
This camp is a chance for 17-year-olds like Jordyn Huitema, Julia Grosso, Maya Antoine and Jayde Rivière to play with their idol. But if Sinclair inspired her younger teammates, it's news to her.
"They would never tell me that," she said with a smile.
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