MONTERREY, Mexico — It has been 16 games in 15 days. One host city, two stadiums. The parameters of the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship look familiar.
A top-heavy region known to have two global heavyweights — and then everyone else — has long held short, quadrennial qualifying tournaments each for the World Cup and Olympics.
This time, there's a catch: double jeopardy. Canada and the United States each qualified for the 2023 World Cup by advancing to the semifinals of the tournament in Monterrey, but only the winner of Monday's final will book a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The loser will wait a year before competing in a playoff against the winner of Monday's third-place match, either Costa Rica or Jamaica (both of which already qualified for the World Cup.) «I think it's a double-edged sword,» Canada head coach Bev Priestman said this week. «For players, for coaches, there's a lot on the line.» — Kassouf: What's next for Sofia Huerta? — Oxenham: USWNT without Alex Morgan is an absurd idea — Don't have ESPN?