Canadian head coach John Herdman on the sidelines against Cuba.

VANCOUVER, B.C.—The Canadian women's soccer team's 4-0 loss to the U.S. Sunday may have wrapped up the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament, but it wasn't the most important match of the event for either team. Those crucial matches would be their Friday victories over Mexico and Costa Rica, which resulted in the Canadians and the Americans earning berths in this summer's Olympics. For the U.S., anything else would have been a shock; they entered this tournament as the top-ranked team not just in the confederation, but in the world, and went on to prove their dominance by going 5-0 and scoring 38 goals while not allowing a single one. For the Canadians, though, fresh off a disastrous World Cup and still adapting to new head coach John Herdman, although they were favoured to nab the second CONCACAF berth, it was never a sure thing. Canada pulled it off, though, clearing the bar for the first real test of Herdman's reign. That's significant in its own right, and it also presents a springboard towards London and the further challenges that lie ahead.

Christine Sinclair signs a fan's flag after Canada's 4-0 loss to the U.S. Sunday.

VANCOUVER, B.C.—There's no dispute that a 4-0 loss to the Alex Morgan-led U.S. was far from an optimal way for the Canadian women's soccer team to wrap up their hosting of the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament. Sunday's clash illustrated just how wide the gap between the seventh-ranked Canadians and the top-ranked Americans is at present, and in many ways, it was a disappointing ending for Canada to a tournament that had previously proved to be a celebration of what this team can accomplish. Still, the Canadians left this competition beaten but unbowed, and while they're disappointed with the ending, captain Christine Sinclair said they're happy with their performance in the event as a whole, and particularly with their qualification for the London Olympics this summer.

Alex Morgan rounds keeper Erin McLeod to score her second goal Sunday.

VANCOUVER, B.C.—At the start of the CONCACAF women's soccer Olympic qualifying tournament, there was plenty of discussion that the event could be a breakthrough moment for 22-year-old forward Alex Morgan. The tournament as a whole didn't really happen that way, but Sunday's final certainly did: Morgan scored two goals, including a crucial fourth-minute marker that took the hometown crowd out of it, and set up two more to lead the Americans to a 4-0 win over Canada.

It may have been mostly pride that was on the line for the teams, as they'd both already qualified for this summer's Olympics, but given the depth of these squads, Sunday's match also served as an opportunity for players to make their case for increased roles going forward. Morgan's performance was the most impressive of the night, and it will undoubtedly help her cause as the U.S. heads onwards and upwards towards London.

The Canadian team, seen celebrating after beating Mexico, faces the U.S. Sunday.

VANCOUVER, B.C.—The two CONCACAF berths for the women's soccer tournament at the London Olympics this summer have already been secured by Canada and the U.S., but that doesn't make Sunday's tournament final between the two countries (8 p.m. Eastern, Sportsnet/CONCACAF.com) irrelevant. Both rosters are deep, and players will be fighting to keep or earn starting jobs; a strong performance in this game could help boost their cases for London. Perhaps even more importantly, though, there's plenty of pride at stake for both countries.

Canada's Christine Sinclair (foreground) and Melissa Tancredi celebrate Friday's win.VANCOUVER, B.C.—It can be an odd moment when a game is summed up not by the first goal and not by the winning goal, but by a so-called "insurance" goal. It's even more odd when that's a goal that arose not from a singular effort, but rather a remarkable pairing between two separate players. Yet, that was the case with Canada's 3-1 win over Mexico Friday night, which earned them a berth in the 2012 London Olympics. The victory was defined by the Canadians' third goal in the 76th minute, and that goal in turn was dictated by an incredible, almost-telepathic link between two long-time Canadian players, Melissa Tancredi and Christine Sinclair.

"They've got a little bit of a connection, don't they?" Canadian coach John Herdman said afterwards. "Tanc and Sinc, there's something about what they've got, playing together for so long."

Friday night, that connection manifested itself with an incredible moment. The Canadians received individual goals from Sinclair and Tancredi in the 15th and 23rd minutes, but it was the combination of the two players that proved truly special. Following Tancredi's goal, Canada seemed to have the game well in hand, but Mexico stormed out after the halftime break. The Mexicans forced several incredible saves from Canadian keeper Karina LeBlanc, and Veronica Perez finally drove one home in the 67th minute when a LeBlanc punch off a corner fell to her. With Mexico mounting further pressure, the game and Canada's Olympic berth seemed very much in question until Tancredi and Sinclair teamed up. In the 76th minute, Tancredi collected the ball just on the Mexican side of the halfway line, spun and booted a long ball into the box for Sinclair without much of a look. Sinclair somehow raced past her defender to exactly where the ball arrived, then flicked it up over Mexican keeper Cecilia Santiago and into the back of the net, sealing the Canadian victory.

U.S. keeper Hope Solo lunges as a first-half shot hits the crossbar Friday.

VANCOUVER, B.C.—Through the first three matches of Olympic qualifying, arguably the biggest American star off the pitch had been primarily an afterthought on it; U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo, of Dancing With The Stars and nude ESPN photo shoots fame, had played reasonably well and recorded three clean sheets, but she hadn't been particularly tested. That changed in Friday's crucial semifinal, as Solo had her top game of the tournament precisely when the U.S. required it, making several critical saves to help the Americans to a 3-0 victory over Costa Rica and a berth in the 2012 London Olympics. American coach Pia Sundhage said afterwards that Solo's world-class play gave the U.S. a crucial edge.

"We have Hope Solo," Sundhage said. "No other country has Hope Solo."

Karina Leblanc (L) and her Canada teammates draw inspiration from Celine Dion (R).

VANCOUVER, B.C.—Many of us Canadians are at a point where we go around apologizing for noted singer Celine Dion, but not the women's soccer team. With a crucial semifinal clash against Mexico looming that will decide the fate of their Olympic dream, goalkeeper Karina Leblanc and the Canadian team released an incredible video Friday that has Leblanc, forward Melissa Tancredi and midfielder Carmelina Moscato belting out a Jennifer Rush song that earned the Charlemagne, Quebec-born Dion a Grammy nomination back in 1995: The Power of Love. Dion's version shot to the top of the charts in Canada, Australia and the U.S. and stayed at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks. The Canadian players' version may not have quite as much staying power, and it's more rolling like thunder than whispers in the morning, but it's still definitely worth watching:

The whole video is quite funny, featuring Leblanc grilling her teammates about planned goal celebrations, but it's the team's apparent love for Dion that puts this over the top. According to Tancredi, they listen to "The Power Of Love" after every win in the locker room, which will go down in history as one of the world's most unusual postgame celebrations.

Christine Sinclair and her Canadian teammates will play Mexico for an Olympic berth Friday.

VANCOUVER, B.C.—One game could define the Canadian women's soccer team's entire year. Canada faces Mexico Friday night (10:30 p.m. Eastern on Sportsnet, CONCACAF.com) at B.C. Place in an incredibly high-stakes CONCACAF Olympic qualifying semifinal. A victory would send the Canadians to the London Olympics later this summer, and while in and of itself it wouldn't ensure a great year for them, it would be a significant step towards one. A loss would keep them out of the Olympcis, though, and a loss to the underdog Mexicans in a tournament played at home could effectively make this entire year a write-off. It could even have implications for the job of recently-hired head coach John Herdman, as qualifying for the Olympics is his first real test. Canada's had an excellent tournament thus far, going 3-0-0 in group play with 6-0, 2-0 and 5-1 victories over Haiti, Cuba and Costa Rica respectively, but that could all come crashing down with a poor performance in Friday's game.