Canada womens national team clinched Group B just days after sealing a spot in next year's World Cup with a 2-0 win over Costa Rica in their final group stage game.
A fast start for Canada
Canada started attacking from the opening whistle as they looked to open the scoring with two chances in the first four minutes of the game but not on target.
One minute later they opened the scoring as Jessie Fleming got an amazing pass from Nichelle Prince and blasted one past the Costa Rica goalkeeper Daniela Solera for an early 1-0 lead.
A minute later Costa Rica earned their first shot on target but Kailen Sheridan who got the start today made her first save of the match. Prince had a chance to score in the 11th minute but was denied by Solera who made a big save.
Janine Beckie had a one-on-one opportunity in the 22nd minute but opted to try and lob the ball over Solera but it went out of bounds. Beckie had another shot on target in extra time but it went right into the hands of Solera.
The first half finished after six minutes of added time with Canada up by one.
Canada finishes strong
Bev Priestman made two changes at the beginning of the second half bringing in Jordan Huitema and Adriana Leon for Christine Sinclair and Nichelle Prince.
10 minutes into the second half Costa Rica started pushing back putting pressure on Canada's back line but they were up to the task of shutting them down.
Leon tested Solera in the 58th minute with a solid cross but she was able to grab the ball and make the save. Priestman made two more changes in the 60th minute bringing in Sophie Schmidt and Alysha Champman for Jayde Riviere and Quinn.
Canada looking for an insurance goal had a great chance in the 68th minute with another cross but again right into the hands of Solera. Schmidt got it in the 69th minute with an amazing curling shot that went off the post and in.
Cloe Lacasse came into the game in the 75th minute as Beckie was subbed out. Huitema had a great opportunity in the 85th minute as she got a shot on target but Solera made a huge save.
Huitema had another shot on target two minutes later but again was denied by Solera. After four minutes of added time, the final whistle blew and Canada had sealed group B not to mention a spot in the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Bev Priestman finally happy with her team's performance
Canada women's head coach was pleased with her team's performance after two frustrating games.
" I knew we were going to rise to the challenge today she said, we can't take anything away from Costa Rica they had 11 clean sheets and only lost two in 15 so we knew the challenge ahead and you have to come out of the blocks flying and to reach the World Cup and the Olympics it means so much to this group and overall I was really pleased and a real professional performance.
Sophie Schmidt happy to get one into the back of the net
" I think the team was frustrated with our last performance and we thrive when the game is open when we use our speed and counter and I think it was a combination of that and we wanted to put ourselves in the best position moving forward with confidence".
Jessie Fleming pleased with the quick start
" We wanted to start a bit quicker and be on the front foot and score early and we did and that was positive for us and something we want to carry into the next games".
Canada will now either face Haiti or Jamaica in the semifinals on Thursday night.