Matheson missed all of the 2017 NWSL season after re-injuring the same troublesome knee that severely limited her participation in the 2015 Women’s World Cup. But she was placed on the Canadian roster for the upcoming Algarve Cup.

The roster for the Algarve Cup was unveiled, featuring seven forwards out of the 23 players named. Maybe new coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller has been studying post-Second World War Eastern European tactics and is looking to start at least four strikers, or maybe he's going to go way out there and show us off Canada's new-look 1-3-6.

So, as Calgary looks to edge closer to a “yes” and four other Canadian cities work towards a World Cup, is someone finally going to take charge ask if these processes are on a collision course?

There's an assumption from the bid committee that Canada's World Cup hosting duties will be spread out. So, if only two cities are selected in the end, it CANNOT be Montreal-Toronto or Vancouver-Edmonton

But, when it comes to tournament soccer, there is an argument for playing possum in the group stage. If you meet a team you faced in the group stage later in the tournament, that opponent doesn’t really know what to expect when you meet again. The opponent may be overconfident.

Canada has to play Haiti for third place in the CONCACAF U-20 Women’s Championship — and, more importantly, the region’s final spot in the U-20 Women’s World Cup.

But, judging by the lukewarm reaction this has received in Canadian soccer circles so far, it's fair to say that the football followers in this country — the people who have dispatched the likes of Owen Hargreaves and Asmir Begovic into their own emotional black holes — have already given up on Tabla ever wearing Canada red again. It feels like Barcelona just signed some phenom from some other country.

The assessors suggested that it was “likely” that the joint bid to host the World Cup would clash with Calgary’s continuing pursuit of the 2026 Winter Olympics. The success of the Calgary Olympic bid was the only potential risk on the report deemed as a potential “worst-case” outcome.

So, if there was one thing Canada would have wanted out of its final group-stage match, it was a better start. And they got it. Shana Flynn got a hat trick in the the first 18 minutes of the match, as the Canadians went on to trounce Haiti by a 4-0 score. With the win, Canada secures top spot in its group.

The hottest new club in the Caribbean is the Ato Boldon Stadium. Located in hot, humid Trinidad and Tobago, this place has everything. Bad calls, dubious goalkeeping and a Canadian team that’s advancing to the semifinal round of the U-20 CONCACAF Women’s Championship!