Canada Face Tough Draw in Olympic Soccer

By Kara McDermott, Womens Football Correspondent

Wednesday will kick off the Olympics for the women’s soccer tournament before the torch is lit. Of the 12 teams competing, only two have ever won medals, opening the door for at least one new team to expand the podium glory.

One team that will be notably missing is Germany. As UEFA does not have a qualifying tournament for the Olympics (such as the CONCACAF tournament for the US), Japan’s 108th minute goal against them in last year’s World Cup quarterfinals effectively knocked one of the strongest teams in the world out of two major tournaments.

They will have to watch as teams such as New Zealand, who for all intents and purposes received a free berth into the tournament out of the OFC Conference, takes their place.

For the women’s game, the final medals mark a long vacation from large international tournaments. By the 2015 World Cup, players will have retired and coaches moved on, making the Games a very resonant tournament for fans.

GROUP E

Brazil Cameroon New Zealand “Team GB”

Group E will feature Great Britain, New Zealand, Cameroon and Brazil. Besides the Brazilian sparklers, this will likely be the weakest group of the tournament compared with the rest of the field.

Queen Elizabeth II will be represented as Group E will start the action with host Great Britain versus New Zealand. This will be a rematch of sorts for New Zealand, whose fate in the 2011 Women’s World Cup was effectively sealed by a sub division of Great Britain, England.. The Kiwis took an early lead, but dropped two goals in the second half and went on to bottom out the group while England advanced with the top seed.

That England team will be bolstered by having Scottish and Welsh players available.

Brazil, always a firebrand, brings a signature flair and style to the field that should put them in good stead to win the group. Their spicy offense, lead by Marta and Christiane, is also their best defense. Constant pressure on the top often goes a long way towards masking a weak back line.

Cameroon is one of the lowest ranked teams of the tournament at 50, well behind Great Britain (9), Brazil (5) and even New Zealand (23). This will be the first year they have qualified for either the Olympics or a World Cup, so realistically speaking, putting a few in the net will be a great accomplishment.

Group Predictions: Brazil and Great Britain will likely advance first and second, respectively out of the group. New Zealand could mix things up by taking points off the two stronger teams.

Match to Watch: Great Britain and Brazil will play in the last game of group on July 31 at 11:45 a.m. PST.

GROUP F

Japan Sweden Canada South Africa

Group F and G both have heavy hitters, but F already looks to distinguish itself as this tournament’s group of death.

It is lead by current World Cup champions, and the bane of the United States, Japan. This is a well-capped team anchored by Homare Sawa in the midfield, ninja Aya Miyama and forward Shinobu Ohno. They will be looking to establish that 2011 was no fluke and to usher the next wave of Asian competitiveness since China was dominant in the late 1990s.

Sweden, sharing honors with the US for one of the oldest teams, will take their experience and play tough soccer. They distinguished themselves by beating the US in group play of the World Cup and will prove a formidable opponent for Japan for the top seed.

From the north comes Canada with new leadership under John Herdman who came to the team Canada after their rather disastrous World Cup showing from coaching the New Zealand women’s team. Captain Christine Sinclair, who will do whatever it takes for a goal, will carry much of the responsibility on her shoulders to compete with the two favorites.

South Africa has the dubious distinction of being the lowest ranked team in the tournament at 61. Their best showing was taking second in the Africa Women’s Championship in 2008. They, like Cameroon, have never qualified for an Olympics or World Cup.

Group Predictions: With three heavy players, Group F will be tightly contested. However, the confident Japanese and seasoned Swedes should prevail. Canada has a strong squad, but tends to struggle in tournament play.

Match to Watch: Two very unique styles will go head to head when Japan plays Sweden on July 28 at 4:00 a.m. PST (or you could sleep in and watch the US play Colombia at 9:00). For fans of Canada, the Maple Leafs will open their campaign against Japan on July 25 at 9:00 a.m. PST.

GROUP G

USA North Korea France Colombia

Group G is a reunion of sorts, bringing together the US, North Korea and Colombia who were all in the same group during the last World Cup. To this mix they add France, making this one group with a lot to prove.

North Korea had a strong initial showing when they opening the World Cup against US, attacking well and keeping the goal line scoreless until a breakdown in the second half. The promise they showed on the field against the US powerhouse quickly disintegrated: they didn’t score a single goal for the entire tournament.

The massive flameout turned worse when failed drug tests and a doping scandal lead to heavy fines and disqualification from the 2015 World Cup, effectively making this tournament the last we will see of Korea DPR on the international stage for a very long time.

With less to lose but some pride to gain, France will be eyeing the US rematch with much intensity. In particular, Marie-Laure Delie will be sharpening her scoring foot in retribution for the US snuffing them out 3-1 in the semifinals of the World Cup. Louisa Necib will also be a point player in the midfield and that last scoreline notwithstanding, will be the toughest obstacle for the US in group play.

Colombia is just breaking onto the big stage after attending their first World Cup last year. They didn’t score any goals, but by holding Korea to a tie and thus a point, they actually finished ahead of Canada. Even more impressively, against top teams in their group (including Sweden), the Colombians only conceded four goals in the tournament: better than Norway, Equatorial Guinea, Mexico, New Zealand and Canada.

A full preview of the US’ hopes and expectations will be out shortly, but needless to say that both hopes and expectations are very high for the current first ranked team in the world.

Group Predictions: US should take the top seed, but they will have to work hard to do so. France will be a battle and North Korea has potential to make things difficult.

Match to Watch:The US will play two very interesting matches in this group, first on July 25 against France at 9:00 a.m. PST and then against Korea DPR on July 31st at 9:15 a.m. PST. The latter game may just be the last in a big tournament for Korea in the foreseeable future.

There will be a full preview if the USA Group later this week.

Photo: Hope Solo Smiles in the Rain at Hampden Park