Canada ready for England in Cyprus Cup final

Canada will face England in the 12 March Cyprus Women’s Cup final after finishing first in Group B play. Canada, the defending Cyprus Women’s Cup champions, is looking to repeat following their 3:0 victory over the United States’ U-20 team in the 2008 final. The two sides will meet at GSP Stadium in Nicosia, the home stadium of the Cyprus national team.



England has recently improved on the international stage, moving up to 10th on the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Rankings. Canada currently sits in 11th.



Canada and England are relative strangers in international women’s soccer. The two sides have not met since May 2003 when Canada hosted England for a pair of matches in Lachine, QC and Ottawa, ON. Canada won both matches 4:0. Current staff member Andrea Neil scored four of the eight Canadian goals in the two matches.



Christine Sinclair leads Canada with three goals in three matches at the 2009 Cyprus Women’s Cup. Christina Julien and Melissa Tancredi have scored Canada’s other two goals. Julien is also one of four players to make their international debut at this year’s tournament – the others being Alyssa Lagonia, Chelsea Stewart and Shannon Woeller.



At the other end of the spectrum, Amy Walsh became the fifth player to make 100 appearances with the national team. Sinclair, meanwhile, set the national record for career starts (125 and climbing) and is closing in on Neil’s all-time record for appearances (128 appearances, four shy of Neil’s record).



The Winners Canadian women’s national team presented by Teck finished top of Group B with seven points. Canada started group play with a 1:1 draw with New Zealand before reeling off a two straight wins over quality opposition. A 2:1 win over Netherlands in Canada’s second match was followed by a clutch 2:0 defeat of Russia to round out group play.



England also comes into the final unbeaten after first round results of a 6:0 win over South Africa, 2:2 draw with France and a 3:0 victory over Scotland.



The 12 March 2009 Cyprus Women’s Cup placement matches are as follows:

FINAL : Canada v England – 17.00 Local

(3rd – 4th position): New Zealand v France – 14.45

(5th – 6th position): Netherlands v South Africa – 14.45

(7th – 8th position): Russia v Scotland – 14.45



For more information on the Cyprus Women’s Cup, please visit www.cypruswomenscup.com.



For more information on Cyprus, please visit www.visitcyprus.com.