Canada’s women’s soccer team qualified for the 2023 FIFA World Cup with a 1-0 triumph over Panama at the Concacaf Women’s Championship on Friday night.
Author of an important double in the first match of the tournament, Julia Grosso was the heroine of Canada and scored the only goal of the match in the 64th minute. After picking up the ball from the penalty spot, Grosso obliterated a defender with a hook and finished the maneuver with a left-footed shot.
Canada will be participating in an eighth consecutive World Cup.
Incidentally, the Canadians got their ticket to the knockout phase of the Concacaf tournament.
After victories against Trinidad and Tobago and Panama, the Maple Leaf will try to conclude its group stage with a perfect record.
Canada, the defending Olympic champion, is ranked 6th in the world and will face Costa Rica (37th) on Monday for first place in Group B.
Costa Rica, who also won their first two meetings, qualified for the World Cup and the knockout stage given Canada’s victory.
The Costa Ricans will participate in a second World Cup in their history in 2023 in Australia and New Zealand. They also participated in the 2015 edition of the tournament.
In Group A, the United States earned their World Cup spot with 3-0 wins over Haiti and 5-0 over Jamaica. Mexico is also part of this group.
The countries that finish in third place in their group will have to go through an intercontinental play-off to qualify for the World Cup.
The eight-team tournament, which will run until July 18, also serves as the qualifying phase for the Concacaf region for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Only the country that wins the Concacaf championship will secure a place in the Olympics. The teams that take second and third place will face off in September 2023 to compete for the last available spot.