Bring on the U.S.A.

VANCOUVER -- It’s meaningless on paper, but couldn’t mean more in spirit.

“You try telling the players it’s a glorified friendly when they play against the U.S.,” Canadian coach John Herdman told sportsnet.ca ahead of the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic qualifying tournament final.

“The sleeves are up straight away, so we planned the tournament. Goal three was to win the tournament, and we expected to play the U.S. We’re ready for it.”

Sunday’s final between Canada and the United States pales in comparison to the importance of the semi-inals, where both nations booked their place to the London 2012 Olympic Games, but the local rivalry means this game will still have plenty of spice.

“It’s USA versus Canada,” Herdman said. “It’s a derby. I’ve been in derbies, New Zealand versus Australia, England versus Scotland, Canada versus America. It’s one of the old time derbies.

“They’re No. 1 in the world, the pressure’s on them.”

Canada hasn’t defeated the United States since 2001 in the Algarve Cup in Portugal, and securing another 3-0 victory, as they did on that day, would be the perfect set-up to the London Olympics this summer.

Still, the odds aren’t in Canada’s favour. The powerhouse Americans are 41-4-3 all-time against Canada, but Herdman feels there’s a difference this time around.

“I drew one of them in my first test against them,” Herdman said of the 1-1 draw in his first match at the helm of the Canadian team. “They don’t frighten us. They’re a team we’d love to tip over on home soil.”

You can’t blame Herdman for his confidence, as his team are riding a 10-game unbeaten run, the second-longest in the history of the Canadian women’s program.

But will it be a first-string line-up in the final, given the gruelling nature of this tournament, where the team will play its fifth game in just 11 days?

It’s hard to imagine left-back Lauren Sesselmann playing a part given the way she limped up to celebrate with her teammates following Friday’s semifinal win over Mexico, but captain Christine Sinclair will play a part after taking a hard tackle during the first part of that 3-1 win.

“You’ll see Sinclair on Sunday,” Herdman said. “As I say, you try stopping her from playing that game. She’s pretty unique, but we had a plan around our players. Game four will be different to game five. Some players will start, some players will finish.

“That’s the beauty with the team -- we’ve changed the culture greatly. We’ve set the context around starters -- some players will start games, and some will finish them.”

Regardless of the practical meaning, there’s still something to be said about the team facing the world’s top seeded team ahead of the Olympic tournament.

“It’s not too often you get the chance to play the No. 1 team in the world,” Sinclair said. “We will absolutely use it as a building block towards London -- we could face them in London.”

The fact there’s no trap door to fall through if there is a loss should mean the shackles will be off and both teams can go for the win without the fear of failure.

“It’s an enjoyable game,” Sinclair said. “For once, the pressure is off and I’m sure both teams will enjoy it.”