Also: Panama-Mexico Gold Cup final, two teams get first wins of the season, U19 Euro final, and more

The Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia is upon us and the defending Olympic champions from Canada, ranked 7th in the world by FIFA, are in tough from the outset.

Playing in Group B, which many pundits are referring to as the “Group of Death,” Canada opens their tournament on July 20 against No. 27 Nigeria (10:30 p.m. EST), they then get to face No. 28 Rep. of Ireland on July 26 (8 a.m.), before finishing against the No. 11 ranked co-hosts Australia on July 31 (6 a.m.).

Boasting the all-time international goal scoring leader (men’s and women’s) and soccer legend Christine Sinclair, who goes greatly undervalued outside of North America, Canada also brings a ton of very skilled players with various levels of experience.

This includes CB Kadeisha Buchanan, who was the first Canadian to lift the UEFA Women’s Champions League trophy; midfield magician Jessie Fleming; midfielder Julia Grosso, who scored the gold medal winning penalty at the Olympics; goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan; and defensive stalwart Ashley Lawrence.

Of course there will be many other players on the team who will be called upon to make playes and do their jobs well if Canada is to advance from this group and make a run at the trophy.

Especially when consideration is given to the fact that Canada, despite its Olympic successes which include two bronze medals to go with the gold, has never had a podium finish at a World Cup. In what is certainly Sinclair’s last go at it, the nation is hoping her illustrious career ends with a bang.

Full Groups (favourites to advance in bold)
***Top two from each group advance to knockout rounds***

Group A
New Zealand (co-hosts)
Norway
Philippines
Switzerland

Group B
Australia (co-hosts0
Canada
Republic of Ireland
Nigeria

Group C
Costa Rica
Japan
Spain
Zambia

Group D
England
Haiti
Denmark
China

Group E
United States
Vietnam
Netherlands
Portugal

Group F
France
Jamaica
Brazil
Panama

Group G
Sweden
South Africa
Italy
Argentina 

Group H
Germany
Morocco
Colombia
South Korea

All Matches are available on TSN channels and apps.

GOLD CUP SHOCK FINALISTS

The Gold Cup final featuring an upstart Panama side and a rejuvenated Mexico should be a very interesting match.

While some predicted Mexico in the final since they could avoid the US and Canada until then, not many would have said the same for Panama.

But, here they are and their penalty kick win over the US on Wednesday night in the semi-finals was well deserved. That game was quite an interesting match, as was the US win in penalties over Canada in the quarterfinals.

Much more interesting than Mexico’s 3-0 training session over Jamaica. And considering Panama has been improving in recent years, just missing out on qualifying for the World Cup behind the CONCACAF Big Three, the final promises to be a great match.

Or it could be a very ugly, foul-filled debacle. Who knows with these two passionate teams playing at SOFI Stadium in Inglewood under the hot California sun.

The final is being played on Sunday, July 13 at 7:30 p.m. EST and can be seen on OneSoccer, Fubo TV.

HUNTSVILLE STRIKERS ROUND-UP

On the Strikers rep development side of things, the U10 Girls beat North Bay 3-2 for their first win of the season with Poppy Moyer scoring a hat trick in the victory.

The U12 Girls team drew 0-0 against Barrie with Islette Grieb posting her third clean sheet (shutout) of the year.

The U11 Girls lost a very competitive 2-1 game against South Simcoe United in Alliston on Monday. Juliet Occhiuzzi scored her fourth of the year for Huntsville.

And the U10 Boys fell 5-3 against North Bay. Henry Lapp, Atticus Kuehnen, and Blake Bourdon scored for Huntsville.

MUFC ROUND-UP

Muskoka United’s U13 Girls team picked up their first win of the season, 4-3 over Pickering on Saturday in I-Model C2 division play. Andi Stevenson scored a hat trick for MUFC in the win.

The MUFC I-Model U15 Boys team kicked off its C2 campaign this week, but fell 3-0 to Richmond Hill.

In I-Model qualifying, Muskoka United FC’s U17 Girls team had a 2-2 draw against Lake Simcoe on July 5 with Elsie Moore and Cate Lamb scoring for MUFC. They then took a 2-0 loss to Barrie on July 10.

In HDSL play, the MUFC U15 Girls team played North Bay with first place on the line on Tuesday and kept up their stellar start to the season with a 7-0 win. Maisy Moore had a hat trick, with Leah Maxwell and Claire Allison adding two each.

The MUFC U13 Boys, playing in a U14 division won 7-2 over Sudbury U15B (yep, U15B – you gotta love the HDSL) on Saturday. Goal scorers against Sudbury were Kyliam Coulombe (3), Tyler Pink (2), and one each from Wolfgang Kuehnen and James Norman Habel.

HUNTSVILLE SOCCER CLUB ROUND-UP

On Thursday night Experienced League Action, Canvas Brewing Co. edged Best Life 3-2, while Aimee Sinclair were fortunate to win 4-2 over Dr. Marc – Algonquin Orthodontics.

On Monday night Huntsville Women’s Soccer League action, Kim O’Grady defeated Cottage Country Flowers 4-2, while The SportLab won 3-1 over Muskoka Tea Company. Player of the Match awards were presented to Sally Franks, Heather Gibbons, Anne McNally and Rachel Marmer.

U19 European championships

The U19 Euros are down to the final two with Italia taking on Portugal this Sunday, July 16 at 3 p.m. EST.

The Azzurrini defeated Spain 3-2, while Portugal beat Norway 5-0 in the semi-finals. In the group stage, Portugal walked out 5-1 winners over Italia, but the score was inflated due to the fact the Azzurrini were given a first half red card with the score knotted 1-1.

Perhaps, that heavy defeat will spur on a great game by the young Italians.

Fans in Canada can watch the match on UEFA.TV for free – just log in with an email or social media account.

Before I forget, congratulations to England’s U21 European Champions. They beat Spain 1-0 in the final last weekend.

TFC MAking moves

Mark-Anthony Kaye, aka Bob Bradley’s “other son,” is on his way out the door and Toronto FC will be much better of for it.

Kaye and CJ Sapong, both of whom are Bradley guys, have proven to be extra baggage and anyone who attends games at BMO Field can point to several moments in every match where they made costly errors. If Kaye doesn’t turn the ball over so much, TFC likely holds on for draws or wins. Sapong finishes even a third of his “should have scored” chances, TFC has more wins and is likely in a playoff spot.

So, hopefully Sapong is next and the team can build towards being a championship contender in the years to come.

On the flip side, TFC is getting Ghanaian midfielder Latif Blessing in exchange for Kaye, and has acquired Argentine midfielder Franco Ibarra on a loan deal from Atlanta United FC for the rest of the season.

Ibarra was originally shocked at the move, stating he didn’t want to be sent from an aspiring championship team to a last place club (TFC is technically second last in the Eastern Conference).

However, life could be a bit more pleasant at TFC if the club keeps making positive moves and Ibarra can quickly click with his new teammates.

Because despite being in second last, the Reds still have a puncher’s chance at the postseason if they can start picking up wins, starting with Saturday in Chicago (who currently hold the last playoff spot).

Plus, the Leagues Cup between MLS and Liga MX teams gets underway this month as both leagues take a break to focus on the tournament. Stay tuned for more on the Leagues Cup in next week’s column!

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