Mexico's head coach believes the discrepancy in skill level between the world's best and secondary soccer nations is getting smaller.

But Leonardo Cuellar also believes if countries like his are going to continue to close that gap, players need more opportunities to develop at home. In Mexico's case, Cuellar said the country needs the proper infrastructure to train its top female players, the way the country's powerful soccer federation has been able to do with the men and youth programs. Without that, the Mexican women's team relies on U.S.-based players, which is clear from the composition of the national team. This year, Mexico's 23-woman roster includes 11 who play their club soccer in the U.S. and only three who play top-flight soccer in Mexico.

Lopsided results against weaker teams, said Cuellar through an interpreter, are "a way of showing some regions that they have to work hard, that they have to make advancements in their development."

"Our players do not have the required training during the week and the quality matches during the weekend," he said. "We have to achieve more active participation throughout the country so that we can differentiate recreational soccer from high-level soccer."

NOTEWORTHY

Canada's Group A win, if somewhat underwhelming, guaranteed the hosts wouldn't play a game in the national capital, which is too bad ... At only 20 years old, Mexican goalkeeper Cecilia Santiago is already making her second Women's World Cup appearance, this time as an important part of the team's leadership group. She made her World Cup debut four years ago in Germany, when she was just 15 ... France's first goal to take an early 1-0 lead Wednesday was, at the 34 second mark, just a few seconds away from breaking the record for fastest goal to start a Women's World Cup match. The record-setter came in the inaugural women's tournament in 1991, when Sweden's Lena Videkull scored 30 seconds into the game against Japan ... Bit of a surprise in France's starting 11 against Mexico as star midfielder Louisa Necib was on the bench to start the match and didn't end up seeing any action. Though there was plenty of talk French coach Philippe Bergeroo wasn't happy with his star, he said following the game Necib was dealing with a minor quad injury though he made a slightly cryptic comment about his lineup changes following the Colombia loss. "It's a strong sign for the group, it tells them that no one has any guarantees," Bergeroo said.

PITCH BITS

Ottawa soccer fans will be happy to see Norway return to Ottawa for their Round of 16 match against England. The Norwegians were a popular draw during their group stage matches at Lansdowne and made many new friends by hosting an open practice that included a short training session with youth soccer players from the area ... There was likely plenty of scoreboard watching by the South Koreans and Spanish during their match Wednesday as Brazil and Costa Rica were also in action. A Costa Rican upset would have secured the country second spot in Group E behind Brazil. A Costa Rican loss would give the winner of Wednesday night's game in Ottawa second place in the group while a draw in both games would knock out Spain and Korea Republic. In the end, it will be Brazil and Korea Republic moving on from the group... Impressive work by Korea Republic captain Cho Sohyun to notch the equalizer in the second-half against Spain. She was able to readjust to a slightly off-target corner to get her head on the ball and send it into the top corner of the net .,, The round of 16 matches in Ottawa will feature Germany taking on Sweden on June 20 and England against Norway June 22.

HERE AND THERE

For all the talk about Wednesday's 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup double-header being sold out, the crowd on hand as Mexico and France kicked-off its group stage match was the smallest of the tournament. A press release sent out by FIFA on Monday was titled "Full stadiums in Ottawa for the rest of FIFA matches at Lansdowne." "Fans wishing to catch the best female soccer in the world will need to act fast, as the doubleheader on June 17 and the knockout Round of 16 matches on June 20 and 22 are selling fast." The crowd was much better for Wednesday's second match between Spain and Korea Republic, which was officially called a sellout, but it still wasn't full ... Have to wonder if the suddenly enforced policy banning print media from taking photos -- even with a phone -- from the press gallery had anything to do with the empty seats. The regulation was never mentioned through the previous Ottawa matches ... Sticking with FIFA rules and regulations, at least two costumed Mexico supporters were seen being told by Lansdowne security that they had to remove their green masks. The two-foot-tall feather head dress one of their friends was wearing was no problem, though.

Twitter: @chrishofley