{
    "title": "Canada qualifies with success in CONCACAF",
    "modified_at": "2026-05-05 18:34:36",
    "published_at": "2008-04-13 11:00:00",
    "url": "https://news.canadasoccer.com/canada-qualifies-with-success-in-concacaf",
    "short_url": "http://prez.ly/8MFd",
    "culture": "en",
    "language": "EN",
    "subtitle": "Mission accomplished: Canada heads back home today after successfully qualifying for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Canada finished second at the recent CONCACAF Women\u2019s Olympic Qualification Tournament in Ciudad Juarez, M\u00e9xico. \u201cI was positively surprised by the (improved) level of the teams,\u2026",
    "slug": "canada-qualifies-with-success-in-concacaf",
    "body": "<p>Mission accomplished: Canada heads back home today after successfully qualifying for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Canada finished second at the recent CONCACAF Women&rsquo;s Olympic Qualification Tournament in Ciudad Juarez, M&eacute;xico.<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200b&ldquo;I was positively surprised by the (improved) level of the teams, referees and organization,&rdquo; said Canadian coach Even Pellerud of the 2008 tournament. &ldquo;CONCACAF is not just Canada and the United States, but M&eacute;xico and Costa Rica, too. We are also seeing (improvement) from the other countries.&rdquo;<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200bCanada, whose title sponsor is Winners, finished second in the tournament after posting a 1:1 draw with the United States in the 12 April final. The United States finished first after a post-game 6-5 victory on penalties. Both teams had already qualified for the Beijing Olympics three days earlier on 9 April. The United States won 3:0 over Costa Rica in the first semi-final while Canada won 1:0 over M&eacute;xico in the second semi-final. M&eacute;xico went on to finish third after winning 3:0 over Costa Rica.<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200bOne of the highlights of the tournament was Canada&rsquo;s back-four defence and goalkeeper. Canada set a tournament record by posting 509 consecutive shutout minutes (dating back to the 2004 tournament). Erin McLeod was outstanding in 2008 with 399 shutout minutes before Carli Lloyd beat the Canadian defence in the 108th minute of the final. McLeod was very good in the semi-final against M&eacute;xico, but even better in the final against the United States.<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200bAnother hero was striker Melissa Tancredi. Tancredi co-led the tournament with four goals, but she was the only player to score in four consecutive games. In Canada&rsquo;s first three games, she scored the opening and winning goal of the match (6:0 over Trinidad &amp; Tobago, 1:0 over Costa Rica, 1:0 over M&eacute;xico). In the final after Canada was down 0-1 late in extra time, she scored the tying goal with less than five minutes on the clock.<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200bThe six-team tournament, which along with the top-four teams featured Trinidad &amp; Tobago and Jamaica, was played at the Estadio Ol&iacute;mpico Benito Juarez in Juarez, M&eacute;xico just over the border from El Paso, TX. The tournament ran 2-12 April. Canada&rsquo;s record was three wins and one draw in four matches.<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200b<br>\u200bWith a second-place finish, Canada qualifies for the Olympics for the first time in 24 years and for the first time in its women&rsquo;s program history. The 2008 Women&rsquo;s Olympic Football Tournament runs 6-23 August in Beijing.</p>",
    "author": {
        "first_name": "Integration",
        "last_name": "Integration"
    },
    "format_version": 5
}