The Canadian women's soccer team is in danger of missing the Olympics

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When the Canadian women's soccer team lost to the United States in the final of the CONCACAF W Championship in Mexico in July 2022, it didn't seem like a big deal.

Yes, it would have been nice to beat the Americans for the regional title and take the one Olympic berth up for grabs in the tournament. But, surely, the reigning Olympic champions would have little trouble securing a ticket to the 2024 Games in Paris when they faced Jamaica in a second-chance, winner-take-all qualifier.

After all, Canada, ranked eighth in the world at the time, had just trounced the 51st-ranked Jamaicans 3-0 in the semifinals of the CONCACAF championship tournament before dropping a hard-fought 1-0 decision to the top-ranked Americans in the final. The Canadians were simply on a different level.

But, now that the Canada-Jamaica qualifier has finally arrived, that may no longer be the case. And Canada must confront the real possibility of losing the chance to defend its Olympic title.

The two-leg playoff for CONCACAF's final Olympic spot begins Friday at 8 p.m. ET in Kingston, Jamaica and concludes Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET at a sold-out BMO Field in Toronto. The aggregate score of the two matches determines the winner. If it's tied, the team with more away goals wins. If that doesn't solve it, 30 minutes of extra time will be played, followed by a penalty shootout if necessary. The winner goes to the Olympics. The loser misses out, and there are no more chances to qualify.

The Canadians were one of the most disappointing teams in the tournament, failing to get out of the group stage after getting