Little humble us

So far, this one is going according to script -- the happy-ending script, not the tragedy in three acts that was the women’s World Cup in Germany.

A couple of easy wins against ridiculously overmatched opponents Haiti and Cuba. A statement victory over Costa Rica that was both a confidence-booster and an aesthetic triumph, to clinch first place in their group.

Now on to the big Friday night semifinal showdown, against Mexico, with everything on the line.

And then, perhaps, as a dramatic cherry on top, a berth in the final Sunday against those swaggering, cocky, pile-it-on, take-no-prisoners Americans, which just might tap into the great national narrative of Little Humble Us versus Big Arrogant Them.

But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves….

Canada’s national women’s team arrived at the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament with a simple but daunting mandate: finish among the top two teams, book a trip to London next summer, and in doing so safeguard the future of a program heading toward a home World Cup in 2015 (while at least partially erasing memories of last summer’s debacle).

Just past the halfway point of that great quest, with Canada right on schedule, a couple of things have been learned.

We’ve learned that there must be serious issues with either the depth of field or the qualifying process -- or both -- if the top four women’s soccer teams in North and Central America can beat the next four teams by a cumulative score of 51-0. Shades of women’s hockey.

And we’ve learned that the United States, still stinging perhaps from that World Cup final loss to Japan, seems intent on sending a message to the rest of Planet Football about just who is No. 1 on the women’s side. The fact that they have done that so far by high-fiving their way through 14-0 and 13-0 wins over opponents that acted as little more than pylons might not bode well for the future of sportsmanship, but there’s no arguing with the results -- or with the sheer quality of their play.

It shouldn’t have come as a revelation that our own Christine Sinclair is one of the finest players in the history of the women’s game, that right now she is near the peak of her powers, and that given any kind of support she can elevate those around her. Still, watching her here, at home, creating goals, scoring goals, putting on a show, has been a true pleasure.

Where the learning comes in is in seeing the way Canada played against Costa Rica -- the fourth best side in the tournament -- on Monday night.

Heading into Germany, there were all kinds of promises made about how this Canadian team had mastered a more sophisticated, possession-oriented brand of soccer under coach Carolina Morace, and were a real threat to advance to the final four. Instead, they imploded, were played off the pitch in a crucial match against France, and the claims of technical sophistication seemed a bad joke.

Morace’s replacement, John Herdman, was called upon to do a rush job last autumn, re-evaluating the talent, adjusting the playing style to suit –- and, most challengingly, restoring the moxie of a group that left the World Cup broken and demoralized.

With the big test against Mexico still to come, where success or failure will be defined, there’s no question he’s made progress. Facing a tricky opponent in Costa Rica in a match in which they absolutely had to get a result, the Canadian women took charge, knocked the ball around with purpose and skill, asserted their superiority from the start, and played a nearly perfect first 45 minutes to settle things by the break. (They lost focus a bit at the end, surrendering a bad goal in what finished as a 5-1 win, but that’s at least understandable.) Most of all, they seemed to have a blast while doing it. Herdman, no pushover, comes from the tough-but-fair school, but he is also straightforward in his approach, and unwaveringly positive. In Germany, as things started to unravel, the players seemed terrified of Morace’s wrath. Right now, with everything going according to plan, there’s a sense of shared purpose, and just as importantly, of shared fun.

All of which could seem like yet another cruel set up for heartbreak if things fall apart against the Mexicans.

Right now, though, that’s not the way it feels.