Canada's soccer teams can end a bad year on a good note

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It has not been a great year for Canadian soccer.

The excitement of the men's national team's long-awaited return to the World Cup in late 2022 gave way to the disappointment of early exits at the Gold Cup and the Women's World Cup. The upheaval within Canada Soccer continued while the inept federation narrowly averted a women's strike and failed to reach a labour deal with either of its aggrieved national teams. The charismatic coach who guided the men to their first World Cup in 36 years quit, and the most prolific player in Canadian history announced she's leaving too.

And yet, this annus horribilis can somehow still end on a happy note as the Canadian men and women enter their final international windows of 2023. Here's how:

Men: Clinch a spot in the Copa

On Friday night in Jamaica, the Canadian men open an important CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal series that could provide a major boost to their preparations for the next World Cup.

The winner of the two-leg contest (the return match goes Tuesday night in Toronto) advances to next year's Nations League final-four tournament. More importantly, it also gets a spot in next summer's Copa America, the intensely competitive South American championship featuring reigning World Cup champion Argentina, perennial power Brazil and other elite teams.

Six guests from the CONCACAF confederation will be invited to the 2024 tournament, which the United States is hosting. If Canada fails to beat Jamaica for one of the four berths reserved for the Nations League quarterfinal winners, it would have to win a one-game,