HAMILTON—Coach Danny Worthington’s voice wobbled as he gushed about his young Canadian women’s national team qualifying for the Pan Am semifinals.

“Sometimes when you do the right thing, good things happen,” he said after Sunday night’s hard-fought 2-0 loss to tournament favourite Brazil. “We brought a young squad here. We’re learning to be international footballers. It’s good karma.”

Canada needed some help to reach the semis — against Colombia on Wednesday. An earlier 2-0 win by Ecuador over Costa Rica at Hamilton Pan Am Soccer Stadium set the stage.

The hosts was tied with Costa Rica and Ecuador with three points heading into the Brazil match, with the Canadians holding the edge on the first tiebreaker: goal differential.

Lose to Brazil by fewer than five goals and the hosts would advance. Mission accomplished.

The young Canadians, most of them under 23, put in an impressive performance against the Pan Am team to beat, dominating for stretches against the No. 6-ranked squad in the world.

Sunday night’s effort after a dispiriting 2-0 loss to Costa Rica last time out offered valuable insight into what the next generation of Canadian women’s soccer players is made of, midfielder Jessie Fleming said.

“It’s really exciting to be on the field with that and I’m sure it’s exciting to watch at times,” said the 17-year-old Fleming.

Sunday’s lineup was buoyed by the return of goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe from suspension, plus Ashley Lawrence and Kadeisha Buchanan, who were unavailable against Costa Rica because of school commitments.

Brazil looked dangerous from the get-go against Canada, the Pan Am defending champion, skipping a low shot just wide of the net in the second minute.

After fending off sustained pressure for the opening 15 minutes, the hosts started to relax and play a more controlled game from the back.

That tempo got the team through the first half, with only a shot by Andressa Cavalari near the 45-minute mark forcing Labbe into action.

The Brazilians came back strong off the break, scoring a goal in a scramble that was called back for a foul against Labbe before a 55th-minute toe poke from midfielder Andressa Alves at the six-yard line put Brazil ahead.

A stunner by Christiane in the dying minutes sealed the win.

Still, a confident display against a world powerhouse bodes well for the Canadians as they move on to face another World Cup squad in Colombia.

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Worthington expects more of the same from a squad he believes is capable of making it all the way to Saturday’s final: “Coming into Colombia we’ll be disciplined, we’ll be tight, but we will be giving them the opportunity to play the way they want to play.”

The Canada-Colombia match will follow the first semifinal between Brazil and Mexico, scheduled to start at 5:35 p.m.

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