Women's National Team Prepares for Beijing

Canada’s women’s national team has nominated its roster for the 2008 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament. Coach Even Pellerud made his selections today in North Vancouver, BC, less than a week before the soccer players and staff depart for Asia. The Canadian soccer team will compete in the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament from 6-21 August in Beijing, China.

Canada’s soccer team qualified for the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament for the first time in Association history earlier this season. Canada qualified by finishing second at the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualification Tournament in Juarez, Mexico. The clinching victory was a 1:0 win over hosts Mexico in the tournament semi-final. Melissa Tancredi scored the decisive goal while goalkeeper Erin McLeod kept the clean sheet.

Canada will play Argentina, China and Sweden in the opening round of the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament. Canada plays Argentina on 6 August, China on 9 August and Sweden on 12 August. From the 12 teams in the women’s tournament (three groups of four teams), eight teams advance to the 15 August quarter-finals. Four teams then advance to matches on 18 and 21 August: first the semi-finals and then, depending on the outcomes, either the gold-medal final or bronze-medal final.

Every player nominated to the roster for the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament has also represented Canada at the national or national-youth level. On the world stage, Canada was most recently ranked ninth in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings. The Canadian team finished second to the world’s number-one ranked United States at the 2008 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualification Tournament. At the youth level, Canada recently won its second CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship, this time defeating the United States 1:0 in the 2008 final.

Canada 2008 :
1 Karina LeBlanc | G | Maple Ridge, BC
2 Amber Allen | F | Pitt Meadows, BC
3 Emily Zurrer | D | Crofton, BC
4 Clare Rustad | D/M | Salt Spring Island, BC
5 Robyn Gayle | D | Mississauga, ON
6 Sophie Schmidt | M | Abbotsford, BC
7 Rhian Wilkinson | F | Baie d’Urfé, QC
8 Diana Matheson | M | Oakville, ON
9 Candace Chapman | M | Ajax, ON
10 Martina Franko | D | Squamish, BC
11 Randee Hermus | D | Langley, BC
12 Christine Sinclair | F | Burnaby, BC
13 Amy Walsh | M | St-Bruno, QC
14 Melissa Tancredi | F | Ancaster, ON
15 Kara Lang | F | Oakville, ON
16 Jonelle Filigno | F | Mississauga, ON
17 Brittany Timko | D/M | Coquitlam, BC
18 Erin McLeod | G | Edmonton, AB