Canada vs. Trinadad and Tobago: CONCACAF W Championship

Jordan Ramsay
July 5, 2022

This is a major tournament for the Canadians as it serves as the qualifiers for the 2023 FIFA World Cup while also offering one direct berth into the 2024 Paris Olympics. Canada, ranked No. 6 in the world, will kick off Group B action on Tuesday against No. 76 Trinidad and Tobago. The Canadians round out the first round against No. 57 Panama on July 8 and No. 37 Costa Rica on July 7.

Canada is a massive -5000 favourite to win the opening game on the CONCACAF odds, while Trinidad and Tobago comes in as a +2900 underdog. A draw is listed at +1400.

Canada -5000
Draw +1400
Trinidad And Tobago +3400

Canada vs. Trinidad and Tobago CONCACAF Women’s Championship Betting Analysis

Tuesday’s 10:00 p.m. ET matchup at Estadio BBVA could be ugly if history is any indication. Since 1991, Canada has won all eight meetings against Trinidad and Tobago by a combined score of 34-0. Not only have the Trinidadians failed to score a goal on Canada, the Canadians have scored at least four goals in all but two meetings.

The teams last met in February 2016, with six different Canadians scoring in a 6-0 rout. There are 10 players from that game currently featured on Canada’s 23-player roster. That includes captain Christine Sinclair, Janine Beckie and Jessie Fleming, who all scored the last time these teams met.

The top two teams in each group of this tournament will advance to the semifinals and earn automatic berths in the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The two third-place nations still have a chance to qualify for the World Cup via the inter-continental playoffs scheduled for next February.

The tournament winner will also automatically qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics and next summer’s CONCACAF Gold Cup. The tournament runner-up will face the winner of the third-place game in September 2023 for CONCACAF’s second Olympic berth and a spot in the 2024 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Canada

The reigning Olympic champions settled for a scoreless draw in Toronto against South Korea on June 26. It was the team’s lone tuneup match for the CONCACAF W Championship. Canada outshot the South Korean’s 11-3. They generally controlled the game with 67 per cent possession time, but they struggled to capitalize on scoring chances. Scoring has been the biggest issue for Canada in 2022. The team has scored multiple goals in just two of six games while also being shut out twice. Still, those games were all non-competitive friendlies. The real test for where this squad is at, will come in this tournament with something significant on the line.

The Reds will once again be led by Sinclair, who has been the face of Canadian soccer for almost 20 years. The 39-year-old has scored 189 goals in 310 international matches, the most all-time among male and female players of any nation. There will also be big expectations on 24-year-old Fleming, who scored Canada’s lone regulation goal and first penalty goal in the Olympic final last year. Other returnees from the gold medal winning team include 29-year-old Adriana Leon and 21-year-old Jordyn Huitema. Leon recently became the first Canadian woman to sign with Manchester United in the FA Women’s Super League, while Huitema just signed with OL Reign in the NWSL following three seasons with Paris Saint-Germain in France’s Division 1 Feminine.

Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago was last in action on April 12, drawing Guyana 2-2. Possession time in the game was fairly even, with the Trinidadians enjoying a slight 52 per cent majority, although they managed to outshoot Guyana 21-8. Asha James scored on a penalty kick, while Lauryn Hutchinson salvaged the draw in the 91st minute. That game actually followed up a massive 13-0 blowout win against Turks and Caicos on April 9. Trinidad had eight different goal scorers in the win, including Chelcy Ralph, who scored a hat trick.

The Soca Warriors qualified for the CONCACAF W Championship by winning Group F of the qualifying tournament with three wins, one draw and no losses. Karyn Forbes and James each had three goals in qualifying. Ralph is always a threat as a potential game-changer, with the offence generally flowing through her. It will be key for the Trinidadians to avoid conceding an early goal on Tuesday as they can’t afford to chase the game against a team like Canada.