Despite own expectations to win, Canada's women sense a lightening of the load as World Cup approaches

This is a column by Shireen Ahmed, who writes opinion for CBC Sports.  For more information about  CBC's Opinion section , please see the  FAQ .

As Canada prepares for the Women's World Cup, it's important to reflect on their achievements, struggles and dive into why this particular tournament is so important for this team and this country. 

The final list of the 23 players representing Canada was announced on Sunday. On the Sunday night (Monday afternoon in Australia) media call, head coach Bev Priestman said that she had selected "a super dynamic and exciting roster."

As the reigning Olympic champions, is there a sense of added pressure on this team? A more pointed question is: how could there not be? Are they respected the way they ought to be? 

There is a sense of immediacy from this team. And their motives are clear: they want to win it all. 

They have had an opportunity to connect and train on the Gold Coast for a few weeks before the tournament begins July 19, with their first game July 20 against Nigeria.

Not having a send-off game in Canada has not been appreciated by many fans, but it has afforded the team the opportunity to train together for longer than some other teams. All the more crucial considering the ill atmosphere the last time the team was all together at the SheBelieves Cup in February when they played in protest against Canada Soccer over pay negotiations.

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Moving forward, team captain Christine Sinclair said that she feels confident that an agreement will be reached before the first game. Before they left for Australia, the leadership of the team said they wanted the dispute settled quickly. 

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