FIFA Women's World Cup: Canada enters competition as Group A favourite
Host nation faces competition from China, New Zealand and Netherlands
Canada will start the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup as the favourite in Group A. They are the top-ranked team in a group that includes China, Netherlands and New Zealand.
According to Infostrada Sports, the host nation has a 95 per cent chance of advancing to the knockout stage and could make it as far as the final.
The most likely final would see No. 1 Germany beat out Canada. This prediction was based on a simulation that was run 10,000 times by an analytics team.
However, before they can get that far, they must get by three teams looking to make an upset in the group stage.
Canada
The host team has made five appearances in the Women's World Cup. They made their debut in Sweden in 1995.
- Best World Cup finish: 2003 semifinals
- Odds to advance: 95 per cent
- Fun fact: Christine Sinclair, Diana Matheson and Rhian Wilkinson have made the most World Cup appearances for Canada at 12 each.
China
Canada's first test will take place Saturday at 6 p.m. ET/ 4 p.m. MT when they face 16th-ranked China.
In their 26 previous encounters, Canada has seven wins, five draws and 14 losses.
- World Cup record vs. Canada: 0-1 (2003 Quarterfinal)
- Best World Cup finish: 1999 runner-up
- Odds to advance: 60 per cent
- Fun fact: China's team includes 11 players under the age of 24 and none over 26.
New Zealand
Canada will battle 17th-ranked New Zealand on June 11.
In their nine previous encounters, Canada has six wins, two draws, and 1 loss.
- World Cup record vs. Canada: First meeting
- Best World Cup finish: Fourth of group in all three (1991, 2007, 2011) appearances.
- Odds to advance: 49 per cent
- Fun fact: New Zealand enters the World Cup with the longest running winless streak. They have not claimed victory in any of their nine games to date.
Netherlands
Canada's last opponent of the group phase will likely be their toughest in 12th-ranked Netherlands on June 15.
In their previous 10 encounters, Canada is undefeated with eight wins and two draws.
- World Cup record vs. Canada: First meeting
- Best World Cup finish: First appearance
- Odds to advance: 77 per cent
- Fun fact: The Dutch team is also youthful and features 18-year-old sensation Vivianne Miedema, who led scoring with 16 goals in the qualifiers.