THE first major international football tournament played under the auspices of the now officially disgraced Fifa will kick off in Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday.
Hosts Canada will play China to get the Women's World Cup under way.
The teams are in the same group as New Zealand and the Netherlands, who play in the evening. The Dutch beat Scotland in a play-off to ensure Anna Signeul's side will have to wait at least another two years before contesting a major championship.
There has been widespread surprise that it was the United States who took the lead in finally bringing football's racketeers to book as, we are repeatedly told, it is not a major footballing country. But try telling that to the one million-plus women soccer players there. In fact there are more registered female footballers in America than there are registered male footballers in all but four of the planet's nations.
It is unsurprising, then, that the United States are most bookmakers' favourites to claim victory when the final is played in Vancouver's BC Place Stadium on July 5.
The holders, Japan, will also have their backers, along with Brazil and France, who beat Scotland 1-0 in Nancy on Thursday night to round off their preparations. The French are in the same group as England, and the teams will play each other in Moncton on June 9.
"I think France will win that game, but England are a much-improved side and very adept on the counter-attack," Signeul, the Scotland coach, predicted.
Until last year the United States head coach was a Scot, Tom Sermanni. The former Albion Rovers and Torquay United player was recruited from a similar post with the Australian team, but lasted just 15 months before being dismissed following poor results in the Algarve Cup tournament.
Sermanni will still have an active involvement in the World Cup as he is now employed on a consultancy basis by the Canadians. Their head coach is an Englishman, John Herdman, and there will be huge expectation on him and his players to do well in front of a passionate home support.
The Canadians were involved in one of the most exciting football matches of all time when they lost 4-3 to the United States after extra time in the 2012 Olympics semi-final at Old Trafford. Events in that game left the Canadians with a huge sense of grievance because of a hotly-disputed third American goal after Christine Sinclair's hat-trick appeared to have sealed a famous victory.
The hosts and their fans would like nothing better than to meet the Americans in the knock-out stages on home soil. The World Cup favourites will, however, take a huge travelling support from across the border, negating any hostility they may encounter in their group and knock-out matches.
The Americans look to be in the toughest group alongside Australia, Sweden and Nigeria. All four base their games on fitness and athleticism.
While Germany and France are Europe's best hopes, the Swedes and England will both be expecting to reach the quarter-finals at least. So too will Holland, but their performances have dipped since they beat both Scotland and Italy to claim the continent's seventh, and final, place in the tournament.
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