A closer look at Canada’s group for the CONCACAF W Championship

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The path to the World Cup for Canada’s women’s soccer team is now clear.

The groups are set for this summer’s CONCACAF W Championship, which serves as a qualifier for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Canada will be in Group B with Costa Rica, Panama, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The tournament is scheduled for July 4-18 in Monterrey, Mexico. Eight teams have been drawn into two groups, with world No. 1 United States, Mexico, Jamaica and Haiti in Group A. The top two teams from each group will qualify for next year’s World Cup.

The winner of the tournament will also automatically earn a berth in the 2024 Olympics in Paris. The second- and third-place teams will advance to a playoff in September for the final Olympic qualification spot from CONCACAF.

Canada, ranked sixth in the world, has reached the last seven consecutive World Cups, only missing qualifying for the inaugural event in 1991.

Here is a closer look at the group.

Costa Rica

FIFA Rank: 36

Record vs Canada: 0-14-0

Last World Cup appearance: 2015

Costa Rica is the highest-ranked country in Canada’s group, but historically the Canadians have dominated, winning all 14 previous meetings.

The teams most recently met at the 2020 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship, which Canada won 1-0 – its closest margin of victory against Costa Rica since 2008. The two sides were even until the 72nd minute, when Jordyn Huitema put away the lone goal of the match.

Canada has outscored Costa Rica 13-2 in their past four meetings, with Huitema and Janine Beckie combining for seven goals.

Costa Rica’s lone World Cup appearance came in 2015, after the team finished runners-up behind the United States in the 2014 CONCACAF Women’s