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Coming off the excitement of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada, the women’s game will look to continue this momentum with Women’s soccer at the 2015 Pan American Games. Used as initial preparation for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, many of these teams will continue to get young players meaningful playing time on the international stage and build chemistry for the future.
Group A
Mexico
Coming off a rather disappointing Women’s World Cup tournament, finishing bottom of a tough group that included France England and Colombia, this is a Mexican side that is seeking to develop a young and competitive core group to compete in CONCACAF with the likes of USA and Canada. Mexico is a team that typically has done well at the Pan Am Games, finishing as finalists in 1999 when the games were last on Canadian soil in Winnipeg, Canada and ending up in the Semifinals the last three years. One player that will look to continue gaining experience is goalkeeper Cecilia Santiago, using this not only to solidify her position within the national team but also getting in more international playing time after signing for Boston Breakers in NWSL.
Trinidad and Tobago
Not much is known about Trinidad and Tobago when it comes to the women’s game, but head coach Ross Russell is confident in what he has to work with and that the team is looking to get onto the international stage. “They are very eager to get back out there and represent the country. We are working towards one unit, one team to represent the country in the best possible manner.” Only appointed as coach recently, taking over for Randy Waldrum, it’s a quick turnaround for both Ross and the squad in preparation for the Pan Am games. Qualifying as winners of the 2014 Women’s Caribbean Cup, two players that are standouts for the Women Soca Warriors are Midfielder Tasha St. Louis and forward Mariah Shade, both combining for 13 goals between them (seven for St. Louis and six for Shade) including Shade’s game winner in the final against Caribbean rivals Jamaica.
Argentina
Qualifying for the Pan Am Games from the 2014 Copa America Femenina, Argentina started the tournament well with wins over Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil in the group stages to earn them a place in this tournament but were unable to carry that good form over into the final stage of the competition. Falling at the final hurdle saw them fail to qualify for the 2015 Women’s World Cup as well as not receive an automatic qualifying spot to the 2016 Olympic Games, making this tournament a big one for the program. This is a team that doesn’t have one major standout player, but works better when many player help carry the load. From qualifications the three players that stood out are Mariana Larroquette, Estefanía Banini and Fabiana Vallejos, however Banini being often referred to as the “female Lionel Messi” and “The Marta of Argentina” makes her one to keep and eye on.
Colombia
Qualifying from the same 2014 Copa America Femenina tournament and coming off a Women’s World Cup tournament that saw them get out of the group stages as a very competitive side, drawing Mexico 1-1, playing England to a 2-1 loss and getting a huge 2-0 win over France. This is a team led by its young star in midfielder Yoreli Rincon, whom scored three goals during qualification to get Colombia to the World Cup and earn them an automatic birth to the 2016 Olympic Games. Other than Rincon the player to watch for is forward Lady Andrade, a player that’s not only skillful and a good finisher but is also infamous for punching U.S. star Abby Wambach in the eye during a group stage match at 2012 Olympics and has been linked to a big move to Liverpool Ladies in the FA WSL.
Group B
Canada
After defeat in the Quarterfinal of the Women’s World Cup to England, this is a big tournament for the host nation as they look towards the Olympic Games and building off young talent for a future without talismanic striker Christine Sinclair. The good thing about this group is that key players have received meaningful World Cup games, players such as superstar defender Kadeisha Buchanan, 17-year-old midfielder Jessie Fleming and midfielder Ashley Lawrence. That trio of players will be joined by a few others that just missed the cut for the big tournament, but made their presence felt at the 2014 U-20 World Cup in forwards Janine Beckie and Nichelle Prince as well as defender Rebecca Quinn. This is clearly a tournament that will be used as a changing of the guard, however there’s still a lot expected from this team as both a host nation and when projecting the future of the women’s game in Canada.
Brazil
This is an equally big tournament for the Brazilian women soccer, acting as initial preparations as the hosts for the 2016 Olympic Games but also as a way of looking to build up a program that’s being caught up to by other South American nations. Winning the 2014 Copa America Femenina helps show that the Brazilians are still the cream of the crop in the region, but teams like Colombia and group rivals Ecuador are making some waves and beginning to close what used to be a sizeable gap. Losing in the World Cup Round of 16 to Australia ended the tournament on a our note, but it will be interesting to see what players emerge from the Pan Am Games as potential successors to the standard bearer that are forwards Marta and Cristiane.
Costa Rica
Beating Guatemala 3-0 in the final of the Central America’s in 2014 CONCACAF Championships, this is a team led by forward Raquel "Rocky" Rodríguez. The 21-year-old plays collegiate soccer for Penn State and is coming off a memorable 2015 Women’s World Cup, scoring Costa Rica’s first ever World Cup goal and looks to be the early heir apparent to its current superstar forward Shirley Cruz Traña. Costa Rica brought a lot of young talent that was under the age of 23 to the World Cup, something that can only be looked at as a positive when thinking about qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Games and the future of women’s soccer in the region. It will be interesting to see if women’s soccer in the region ever takes a similar leap as the men’s program has done in recent years, particularly looking at the amount of potential the team has playing the likes of Spain, South Korea and Brazil in close matches.
Ecuador
Qualifying for the Pan Am Games through reaching the final stage of the 2014 Copa America Femenina, a tournament in which they were the host nation, they just missed out on the automatic qualifying places for both 2015 Women’s World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games. However, Ecuador managed to get by Trinidad and Tobago in a CONMEBOL/CONCACAF playoff to earn a place in the World Cup. On the wrong side of some big defeats on the world stage, falling victim to a 6-0 loss to Cameroon and a 10-1 loss to Switzerland, it will be interesting to see if any lessons were learned from a team that’s still developing but making strides. Forward Giannina Lattanzio, goalkeeper Shirley Berruz and fullback Ingrid Rodríguez have all been key players in recent matches, all thee standing out during World Cup qualification.
Analysis
I do like the chances of Canada and Mexico to make it to the Gold medal match given its talent on the roster and how the groups were drawn. However, one team I’m interested to see is Colombia, a nation that unlike others in the South American region has actually taken women’s soccer seriously in recent years, is building a young core group and are seeing more of its players garner interest from top European teams. Overall I’m more optimistic for what the 2015 Pan Am Games will do for Women’s soccer than what it will do for their counterparts, giving the game a chance to grow further after such well attended Women’s World Cup and hopefully seeing its top young talent gain further recognition on an international stage. I do have questions and doubts over whether the money made from Women’s World Cup and Pan Ams will properly funnel its way back into the game, but it shouldn’t take away from what’s expected to be some good matches.
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