It is home to the likes of Michael Cera, Rick Nash and Rohinton Mistry. It was where premier Bill Davis called home. It’s arguably the lacrosse capital of Canada. And, it’s Canada’s most important soccer city. Why is the suburb lovingly known as ‘Flowertown’ our home of footie?

That was the situation for me on Friday night. And it was a refreshing reminder of why I love this game so damn much. As I watched Germany and China contest one of the most incredible matches in the history of the U-20 Women’s World Cup at Commonwealth Stadium, I had the Canada-Finland feed up on my laptop, seeing if our national side could recover from its opening game loss.

Sura Yekka is still in high school; and she has the chance to do something that’s a true rarity in either men’s or women’s soccer. She’s already represented Canada at U-17 World Cup; she’s expected to be one of Canada’s stars at this summer’s U-20 World Cup. And, she’s likely to make the senior squad for next year’s Women’s World Cup. Three World Cups at three age levels in just over a year. How many other players could boast such a feat?

The second issue of Plastic Pitch, out today, features a 16-page section on Canada's bid for the World Cup.

But, instead of folding, the Canadian side showed some resolve. Yes, the Canadians had to defend deep. It was the nature of being down to 10 players. But, there were some wonderful defensive performances. And the Canadian side held on for a 2-1 win.

And even though the late autumn/early winter conditions in Edmonton won’t be anything close to the July conditions we’ll see at the 2015 Women’s World Cup, Herdman said that getting a friendly in at the stadium where Canada will open the tournament will be vital to the team’s preparations. And, he said the cold can be a coaching tool, to see “if the players can focus on the task at hand.”