Canada are the Olympic champions and although they haven’t had the best year so far, I still believe they have some incredible talent, and also a winning mentality.

It’s no secret that the reigning Olympic gold medalists are hungry for more.

After defeating Sweden in the 2020 Olympic final after a penalty shootout, Canada are out to prove they can win a World Cup too, and that their title didn’t come down to what many consider luck. While it’s true that penalties fell in their favour – they also defeated Brazil in the quarters after a shootout – a strong defence was the main reason behind their success.

That is largely because the FIFA-ranked seventh best team in the world has been overcome with injuries in recent months. Even though players like Kadeisha Buchanan, Deanne Rose, Quinn, Shelina Zadorsky and Jayde Riviere were able to recover in time for camp, the near-endless slew of injuries has meant Priestman’s opportunities to experiment with lineups in friendlies ahead of the World Cup have been limited.

That isn’t to say Canada is incapable of making magic happen in the final third. They have some top players like Christine Sinclair with 190 international goals. The Canadians have experience and quality throughout their side, with many of their key players at Chelsea in the Women’s Super League. Kadeisha Buchanan is an important figure in the centre of defence and Ashley Lawrence, who recently joined her international teammate at the Blues, plays a crucial role on the right.

I also really like Jessie Fleming – the third Chelsea player in the side – who scored in the Olympic final and is an excellent all-round midfield player who can influence games.

In the opening game they achieved an unlucky draw against Nigeria, where Sinclair missed a penalty and Canada missed many chances, deserving to win the game. After that draw, now they are totally forced to win this fixture as Australia has already three points.

Striker Jordyn Huitema might have lacked the finishing touch in their first outing, but was a threat throughout and could spell trouble for Ireland, while OL Reign midfielder Quinn provides great cover for the Canadian backline.

On the other hand, Ireland is making their World Cup debut. Ranked #22 in the FIFA Ranking, they have a number of players playing at the top level in England.

Captain Katie McCabe had a great season with Arsenal, scoring a lot of goals and providing assists while she also has the ability to play in a number of positions. In my opinion, if she’s in form and playing well, the Ireland team plays well.

They suffered a defeat 1:0 against co-hosts Australia in the first round, where they created some danger in the later stages but overall they were outplayed and the result was fair.

Ireland is a defensive team whose danger is based mainly in set pieces and counters, actions that should be easily stopped by an experienced team like Canada. Canada has clearly much more quality and experience, so it’s logical to think of a victory for them here. A draw or defeat will make things very difficult to qualify, because Australia in the last round won’t be easy.

加拿大是奥运冠军，虽然他们今年表现不佳，但我仍然相信他们有令人难以置信的天赋，也有争胜的心态。

众所周知，卫冕奥运金牌得主渴望获得更多金牌。

在点球大战中击败瑞典队后，加拿大将在2020年奥运会决赛中证明他们也能赢得世界杯，而且他们的冠军并不取决于许多人认为的运气。虽然点球对他们有利——他们也在点球大战中击败了巴西——但强大的防守是他们成功背后的主要原因。

这在很大程度上是因为这支在国际足联排名世界第七的球队最近几个月一直受到伤病的困扰。尽管像布坎南、罗斯、奎因、扎多斯基和里维埃这样的球员都能及时恢复，参加训练营，但几乎没完没了的伤病意味着普里斯特曼在世界杯前的友谊赛中试验阵容的机会有限。

这并不是说加拿大没有能力在决赛中创造奇迹。他们有一些顶级球员，比如克里斯汀·辛克莱，在国际比赛中打进190球。加拿大人的球队经验丰富，实力雄厚，他们的许多主力球员都在切尔西参加女超联赛。卡迪沙·布坎南是中卫的重要人物，而最近加盟蓝军国家队的阿什利·劳伦斯在右路扮演着关键角色。

我也很喜欢杰西·弗莱明——切尔西的第三名球员，他在奥运会决赛中进球，是一名出色的全能中场球员，可以影响比赛。

在首场比赛中，他们不幸战平尼日利亚，辛克莱罚丢了一个点球，加拿大错失了很多机会，理应赢得比赛。在那场平局之后，现在他们完全被迫赢得这场比赛，因为澳大利亚已经得到了三分。

前锋乔丁·惠特马在第一场比赛中可能缺乏最后一击，但他自始至终都是一个威胁，可能会给爱尔兰带来麻烦，而OL Reign中场奎因则为加拿大后防线提供了很好的掩护。

另一方面，爱尔兰正在进行他们的世界杯首秀。在国际足联排名中排名第22位，他们有很多球员在英格兰的顶级联赛中踢球。

队长凯蒂·麦凯布在阿森纳度过了一个伟大的赛季，进了很多球并提供了很多助攻，同时她也有能力胜任多个位置。在我看来，如果她状态良好，打得好，爱尔兰队就会打得好。

在第一轮比赛中，他们以1:0输给了东道主澳大利亚队，虽然他们在比赛后期制造了一些危险，但总的来说，他们被击败了，结果是公平的。

爱尔兰是一支防守型球队，他们的危险主要来自定位球和反击，这些动作本应被像加拿大这样经验丰富的球队轻易阻止。显然，加拿大队的实力和经验都要强得多，所以认为加拿大队在本届世界杯上获胜是合乎逻辑的。一场平局或一场失利都会让出线变得非常困难，因为最后一轮的澳大利亚并不容易。