History favours U.S. but Canadians confident By Terry Jones, SUN MEDIA

BEIJING – Win and bounce the Americans out of the tournament prior to the medal round, and it'll be the biggest story of the Olympics to this point for Canada.

Lose and it will be the last time they play for coach Even Pellerud and it will be a very emotional evening the other way.

It's Canada versus the U.S.A. in women's soccer Friday in Shanghai and it's not just another game at the Olympics.

“It's obviously the most important game of our careers,” said captain and superstar Christine Sinclair.

“Win and we have a very good chance for a medal,” she said of the team sport medal Canada hasn't won since the Hitler Berlin Olympics of 1936.

“Win and it would be huge for soccer in Canada. Win and it would be great for our country at these Olympics.

“Lose and ... we're not spending any time thinking about that,” said the player who will equal Charmaine Hooper's Canadian record with her 122nd start for the team in the quarter-final.

Kara Lang said there's not a gal in the group who isn't totally aware of the upside with this game.

“Oh, my gosh, yeah,” she said. “It would not only mean we'd advance to the medal round, which is our main goal, it would mean we finally beat the U.S. To do that at the Olympics would just be so awesome. We've been so close so many times.”

But is there reason to think it won't just be another U.S.-Canada game?

Canada is 3-36-4 all time against the Americans.

Our girls haven't beat the U.S.A. in a soccer game since March 2001 at the Algarve Cup in Portugal when a significant number of players aren't available because of U.S. college commitments.

The United States is ranked No. 1 in the world.

They won two of the three previous Olympic tournaments and settled for silver in the other losing to Norway in overtime.

Canada has never been in the Olympic women's tournament before.

The Americans are two-time Women's World Cup winners.

The Americans been the dominant team on the planet since Mia Hamm and friends put the sport on the map in the United States and then around the world in the first place.

“It's the way our team has been playing recently,” said Lang. “I think we're even a better team than we were the last two times we played them and they aren't as good a team as they were then.”

The Americans admit it's been tough getting their team in synch so far at the Olympics with the loss of superstar Abby Wambach and two other injuries.

And the Canadians point to the fact they lost 1-0 to the U.S. on a goal in the 91st minute the last time the two teams played in June at the Peace Cup in Korea. Back in April the Americans needed a shootout to beat Canada in the final of the CONCACAF tournament in Juarez Mexico where both teams qualified to get here.

“We've been getting closer and closer,” said Sinclair. “And there's the injuries they suffered. When I first started with the team they were beating us 6-0 every single time. Now we're playing the best we've ever played for Even. This is the time to play them.”

U.S. coach Pia Sundhage said it's not like these two teams don't know each other.

“We've played them many times,” she said yesterday. “But going into a game against them in the Olympics, it will be different of course. Whoever can capture that Olympic feeling and play their own game will have the best chance.

“We have a couple of injuries and, of course, Abby Wambach broke her leg just before the tournament,” she said of her superstar.

“That is a challenge. But those are things you can't do anything about. You have to find a way to win.”

Actually it's three injuries and a pregnancy.

In addition to Wambach, midfielder Leslie Osborne and defender Cat Whitehill are out. And Christine Williams was pregnant, just giving birth to a baby girl, which might be a good thing for the 2028 Olympics for the U.S.A. but not for this one.

Several American players went on the record about the match-up, which they were mostly happy with because it meant they didn't meet Brazil.

“It's going to be a battle,” said defender Lori Chalupny. “We have a good feeling for them and familiarity with them but it's always a battle. The last couple games have been one goal games.

So we'll be prepared and excited for that game,” she added. “I've been part of the team for a couple of years and I feel like I played them so much. We know how they play and

we know they have a strong team with some really good players.”