June 30 – The final 23-player rosters for the Concacaf W Championship have been released for the eight nations with the US and Canada, the two red-hot favourites for the tournament stacking their squads with in-form stars and big names.
The World Champions (USA) and Olympic Champions (Canada), have been seeded into separate sides of the draw and on form should progress to the winner takes all final where not only the Concacaf Championship will be on the line, but 2023 World Cup qualifying and one spot guaranteed at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
Securing that Olympic slot early will high in the minds of both these teams.
The USWNT boast a star-studded roster, including 2019 Ballon d’Or Feminin holder Megan Rapinoe. However even she is put in the shade currently by serial goalscorer Alex Morgan with 160 goal involvements in 191 games.
Despite a perhaps disappointing stint in the FA Women’s super league for Tottenham Hotspur, her reputation on the international stage is ferocious. She currently captains San Diego FC and is in the best club-form of her life with 11 goals in 10 games.
Midfielder Lindsay Horan (USWNT athlete of the year 2021) is also a game changer for the US, while Rapinoe is hard to ignore either on or off the pitch.
Canada’s squad is similarly stacked with three Canadians who featured in the nominations for the 2021 Ballon d’Or Feminin – Jessie Fleming (Chelsea), Ashley Lawrence (Paris Saint-German) and record goalscorer Christine Sinclair (Portland Thorns).
Sinclair is be the best female footballer ever produced by the country. Fondly nicknamed ‘Captain Canada’, the 38-year-old is a force of nature in front of goal and can be expected to have a big say in this campaign.
But it isn’t just about the established big team women’s nations, with hosts Mexico providing something of an unknown quantity as they step up a level, but it is a step up they look ready to take.
Despite hosting the finals, Mexicostill had to qualify for the finals and they did so in style, unbeaten in six matches they scored 34 times without conceding.
Katty Martinez will lead El Tri’s line in Monterrey. She was top scorer in qualifying, with six goals in four games. Her club form has been spectacular, regularly netting for Tigres UANL in the Liga MX Femenil ahead of her mid-season transfer to Club America.
The tournament’s group stage will kick off on July 4 and will run through July 11. At the end of round robin play, the top two teams from each group will move on to the semi-finals and in doing so, qualify directly to the 2023 FWWC (four teams). Meanwhile, the third placed teams in each group will qualify for a 2023 FWWC Intercontinental Playoff (two teams).
The Champion qualifying for both the 2024 Paris Olympics and the inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup (CWGC), to be held in 2024.
The runner-up and third-place teams will also square off in a Concacaf Olympic play-in series, scheduled for September 2023. The winner of that play-in series will also qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2024 CWGC.
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