HOUSTON, TEXAS – Through its first three games in the 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Soccer Qualifying Tournament, everything has gone Canada’s way.

Three games in which Canada was the overwhelming favourite were taken care of comfortably with Canada outscoring their opponents 21-0; their opponents mustering only a scattering of modest scoring opportunities.

Now Canada gets Costa Rica on Friday in the tournament's semifinal with a spot in the Olympics on the line, and as has been the case with everything else in the competition, that also appears to have gone Canada's way.

“We were sort of hoping that it was going to be Costa Rica coming out of the group,” head coach John Herdman admitted. “I think they’re an exciting team. It will make for a great game. They’ve improved massively.”

Costa Rica opened Group A competition with a 5-0 drubbing at the hands of the United States before defeating Puerto Rico 9-0 and then Mexico 2-1.

View photos Coach Herdman calls to his players during the second half of Canada's match against Guyana. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Pat Sullivan More

Group A was easily the tougher of the two groups with three teams that participated in last year’s Women’s World Cup. Canada, in a group that featured three of the tournament's weaker teams, hasn't truly been tested yet.

Costa Rica took their lumps in the first game against the Americans but that adversity proved to be beneficial as the team rolled to two-straight wins afterwards. Canada will still be the favourites in Friday's semifinal, but the start of the game may prove to be interesting as Costa Rica may bring the sharpness that came from some early adversity.

“That’s the benefit for Costa Rica—they’ve played at an intensity and tempo that we haven’t yet experienced in the tournament. So we’re going to have to shift gears very quickly,” said Herdman.

“That’s going to be our challenge. In the first 15-20 minutes of the game, they’re going to say in the other dressing room that we haven’t faced an opponent like this, let’s see if we can catch them cold.”

Nerves have the ability to alter the course of a game. Canada has a young squad in camp and it will be up to the veterans to calm things down, but there's enough experience on this team to affectively put those nerves at ease.

There’s no doubt Canada will be heavily favoured and if the team's first three games are any indication, Canada looks very comfortable regardless of which team is on the other side of the field.

“We challenged the group of players going out there tonight to maintain that intensity and focus,” said Herdman. “It was wonderful just watching some of those young players come alive and you put a different group on and the chemistry is still there and they’re working hard for each other."

Herdman will be blessed with choice in this decisive semifinal as many of the team's big names – Christine Sinclair, Desiree Scott, and Diana Matheson – have all been well rested.

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