U.S. takes on Canada in CONCACAF Final

The GIST: Today’s the day. The defending world champion USWNT and defending Olympic champion CanWNT go head-to-head at 10 p.m. ET with the CONCACAF W trophy and a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics on the line. As if Mondays weren’t stressful enough.

The history: Tonight marks the 63rd meeting of these two powerhouses, adding another chapter to a storied rivalry that dates back to 1986. And the recent history has been especially spicy, with some of their more memorable clashes coming in the 2012 and 2020 Olympic semifinals.

• In 2012, the U.S. beat Canada in extra time after the ref made a very controversial call. But Canada got revenge last year, defeating the USWNT thanks to a video review–awarded penalty kick (PK).

• TL;DR? CanWNT vs. USWNT is must-see TV.

USWNT’s keys to success: The red, white and blue have added motivation coming off their aforementioned Olympic loss, but it’ll take more than that to stop Canada’s explosive attack. Luckily, the U.S. has yet to concede a goal all tourney (*knocks wood*) — watch for defender Alana Cook to continue her lockdown performance.

• As for the offense, the USWNT’s young core will need to step it up against a Canada defense that’s also yet to give up a goal.

• Forwards Sophia Smith, Midge Purce andTrinity Rodman were all absent from the 2020 Olympic roster, but they’ve already made a major impact in their short international careers. Nothing left to say but LFG.