{
    "title": "Canada begins defence of Cyprus Cup",
    "modified_at": "2026-05-05 17:55:39",
    "published_at": "2011-03-01 09:00:00",
    "url": "https://news.canadasoccer.com/canada-begins-defence-of-cyprus-cup",
    "short_url": "http://prez.ly/28Fd",
    "culture": "en",
    "language": "EN",
    "subtitle": "Two-time champion Canada will defend its title at the 2011 Cyprus Women\u2019s Cup this 2-9 March in Larnaka and Nicosia, Cyprus. Canada is one of 12 nations competing in this year\u2019s expanded edition, with the tournament now in its fourth season.",
    "slug": "canada-begins-defence-of-cyprus-cup",
    "body": "<p>Two-time champion Canada will defend its title at the 2011 Cyprus Women&rsquo;s Cup this 2-9 March in Larnaka and Nicosia, Cyprus. Canada is one of 12 nations competing in this year&rsquo;s expanded edition, with the tournament now in its fourth year.<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200bCanada faces Scotland on 2 March, Italy on 4 March and England on 7 March in the group phase of the competition. All teams then play in one of six placement matches on the final day 9 March. The opening Canada-Scotland match kicks off at Ammochostos Stadium (14.00 local kick off / 07.00 ET / 04.00 PT). A live twitter stream will be available for all Canada matches at <a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/CanadaSoccerEN\">twitter.com/CanadaSoccerEN</a>.<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200bThe Cyprus Women&rsquo;s Cup is one of two major tournaments in early March, with 24 different teams competing in Cyprus and Portugal (Algarve Cup). Five of the 12 teams competing at the Cyprus Women&rsquo;s Cup are preparing for this summer&rsquo;s FIFA Women&rsquo;s World Cup Germany 2011. There are four Germany 2011 teams competing at the Algarve Cup.<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200bCanada opened its 2011 season in China PR in January, finishing second at the Yongchuan Cup Four-Nation Tournament (two wins and one loss). Canada won 3:2 over China PR, lost 1:2 to USA, and won 1:0 over Sweden. Canadian captain Christine Sinclair was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament.<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200bThe 2 March match will be the third-ever meeting between Canada and Scotland. The two sides first met in 2002 at the Algarve Cup, a 3:0 win for Canada. They also met in 2008 in an international friendly match, an 0:2 loss for Canada.<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200b&ldquo;Scotland is a very aggressive team, but it will be important that we concentrate on how we approach the match,&rdquo; said Canadian national head coach Carolina Morace. &ldquo;I expect that we continue to improve. We know what we have to do and we are working on it.&rdquo;<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200bCanada&rsquo;s all-time record at the Cyprus Women&rsquo;s Cup is nine wins, one draw and one loss. Canada finished first in 2008 and 2010, but also finished second in 2009. In 2010, it was Diana Matheson who delivered the winning goal in the championship final against New Zealand.<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200bLike Canada, Scotland has appeared in every edition of the Cyprus Women&rsquo;s Cup. In 2010, Scotland finished in seventh place.<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200b</p>",
    "author": {
        "first_name": "Integration",
        "last_name": "Integration"
    },
    "format_version": 5
}