KINGSTON, Jamaica – As if to make it clear they were traveling for business and not pleasure, the Canadians left the Caribbean in the hours after their 2-0 victory over the Reggae Girlz.

Their base is now Toronto, where they will spend the next few days as favorites until the second leg of this Olympic qualifying series, at the end of which we will know who will join the Americans as representatives of the CONCACAF zone in Paris. next summer.

Canadian coach Bev Priestman warned her team that the job was only half done, but given the away goals rule, we should probably put the odds of Canada qualifying for the Olympic tournament a little higher than 50%.

In international football, this tiebreaker is being quietly abolished, the first to come into play if two teams are tied after 180 minutes. It has not been used in European competitions such as the Champions League for two seasons. Here it serves Canada well.

The 2-0 win at Kingston’s National Stadium means the Maple Leaf representatives can lose 1-0 at home and still validate their ticket to Paris. A 2-0 score for Jamaica after 90 minutes at BMO Field and the game would go into extra time. Any further defeat by a two-goal margin, such as a 3-1 loss that would bring the final score to 3-3, would send the Jamaicans to the Games.

Furthermore, the problem is not only related to the Olympic tournament. The winning team of this series qualifies directly for the Gold Cup, which will take place next February. The losers usually end up in the qualifiers with games against Panama and Guatemala in October and November. By winning the series, Canada would be able to structure the next international windows as they wish, such as with friendlies against opponents of their choice.

Above all, the Canadians want to confirm Jamaica’s performance and game in Toronto. The system presented by Priestman and the result it produced, with good intentions and two goals scored from full court by Nichelle Prince and Adriana Leon, crosses from Ashley Lawrence and Gabrielle Carle from the right, were enough to convince Canadian fans optimistic for this new cycle.

The players are also confident about the future – at least those who spoke to us after the encounter. Both Lawrence and Sydney Collins expressed that they felt the system took advantage of different players’ strengths.

Everyone has a strength. “I like to hit,” Lawrence admitted. And in this system I’m much higher, so I can play one-on-one like I did for the first goal. I like this position. Our team did a great job of finding me, but their overall use of the ball was also great.

This allows us to really play to our strengths,” Collins added. We can move forward and take initiatives. I love that.

The team didn’t leave to understand everything Lawrence admitted that this would happen in a few days, but she was happy to see that it was already working well. With this quick return home, players will have three full days to continue their preparation.