MONTREAL -- Canada is sitting pretty ahead of the 2014 FIFA U-20 Womens World Cup. [url=http://www.brazilsoccerproshop.com/c-3-a

MONTREAL -- Canada is sitting pretty ahead of the 2014 FIFA U-20 Womens World Cup. Alisson Jersey . Canada was placed in one of the easiest groups during Saturdays live televised draw in Montreal. The eighth-ranked Canadians will face North Korea (ranked No. 4), Ghana (No. 19) and Finland (No. 26) in the group stage. "We definitely didnt expect an easy group," said Canadian U-20 coach Andrew Olivieri. "We were anxious. Its a great group." Olivieri, a retired Montreal Impact goalkeeper, doesnt want to get ahead of himself before the first ball is kicked five months from now. A good draw, however, allowed him to raise his expectations. "Weve never been beyond a quarter-final, except for that first tournament (in 2002)," he said. "Were in a good position. We want to reach the quarter-final, and win that quarter-final." Since the inaugural competition in 2002, also hosted by Canada, the U-20 tournament has been held every two years. This year, the 20-day tournament begins on Aug. 5 and wraps up Aug. 24. Four Canadian cities -- Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton, and Moncton -- will welcome some of the best womens under-20-year-olds from 16 different nations. The final will be held at Montreals Olympic Stadium. Canada plays Ghana in the tournaments opening match in Toronto. Ghanese coach Bashir Hayford thinks Canadians would be too quick to treat the first game as an easy victory for the home side. "All eyes will be on us," said Hayford. "It will be a bit intimidating with that crowd. But well have supporters in Toronto too. I know they will galvanize and come and support us. If we can win, our confidence will be built for subsequent games. We are going to play very well." Ghana earned its spot in the U-20 World Cup by defeating Equatorial Guinea 4-3 in penalty shots in January. This is their third successive trip to the U-20 World Cup, but they have yet to make it past the group stage. "Every country wants to win the cup," said Hayford. "Thats why were competing. If you ask me about my expectations, Ill tell you: we want to win the cup." After Ghana, the Canadians will face the Finns, also in Toronto. Finnish coach Marianne Miettinen knows playing in Canada will be a great experience for her young players. She says she will be wary of Canadas good speed up front, but knows her side will come to Toronto with a lot of heart. "Finland has a good fighting spirit," said Miettinen. "The Northern teams are really well organized. Were going to give everything in every game. Were going to be really tough to beat." The Canadians close out the group stage against North Korea, in Montreal. And although the fast-paced North Korean team will prove to be a tough test for Canada, the host nation luckily avoided the Group of Death -- the soccer group that invariably brings together some of the worlds best teams. For the upcoming U-20 Womens World Cup, that group is composed of the United States (ranked No. 1), Germany (No. 2), Brazil (No. 3), and China (No. 6). Together, the U.S. and Germany have won five of six U-20 competitions. The Americans are the defending champions, having beaten the Germans 1-0 in the final game of the 2012 tournament in Tokyo, Japan. If Canada does make it past their group stage, they will have to face the Americans, Germans, or Brazilians in the quarter-final. "Its going to be challenging," admitted Olivieri. The tournaments third group opposes Nigeria (ranked No. 5), South Korea (No. 10), Mexico (No. 11), and England (No. 13), and the final one includes France (No. 9), New Zealand (No. 15), Costa Rica (No. 25), and tournament newcomers Paraguay (unranked). The U-20 World Cup will give also give Canadian soccer fans a taste of whats to come. Next summer, Moncton, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver will host the 2015 FIFA Womens World Cup, the first senior FIFA tournament held in Canada. Olivieri, whos been coaching the under-20s for two years now, said that any player who excels on his squad this summer will have a very good shot at being involved in next summers World Cup. In total, Canada will host 84 international soccer matches in seven cities across the country in the next two years, and is expected to draw a combined nearly two million soccer fans. "The womens game is improving in Canada," said Olivieri. "It will be incredible. There are many young kids already playing the game, and this will only help. The reach of the game will change." Note: Mayor Denis Coderre and former Montreal Canadiens coach Jacques Demers were in attendance for FIFAs official draw. a Ten of the 16 team coaches were also present in Montreal on Saturday. Marcelo Brazil Jersey . As if the individual strands of grey hair or the increasing amount of joint pain werent reminders enough, the impending end of Jeters career is a slap-in-the-face indicator of a generations fleeting youth. Brazil Blank Jerseys . After seven wins in a row, they have to do it one more time to get into the playoffs. http://www.brazilsoccerproshop.com/c-40-fagner-brazil-jersey.aspx . The triple gold medallist from the 2010 Paralympics tweeted on Tuesday: "Woke up with a virus yesterday. Timing couldnt be much worse. Not the ideal prep for the .ATLANTA - As Dwane Casey summed up his teams latest victory, famed actor and Atlanta-native Chris Tucker, a regular at Hawks games, looked on and waited his turn to enter the Raptors locker room. The Rush Hour star hung around, chatting with players and coaches until it was time for them to get on the bus and head back to Toronto. Hes not the only one that wants a piece of the East-leading Raptors. Theyve become the talk of the NBA. On this date a year ago, they would suffer a narrow defeat at the hands of Brooklyn. It was a night that turned out to be significant, as it was the first in a series of five straight losses, extending into December, that would ultimately force the trade of Rudy Gay. They havent dropped more than two consecutive contests since. Everything they have done over the last 12 months has in some way contributed to the team they have become today, a club that strongly believes they can win on any given night, against any opponent, anyway they have to. The scary part for any team on the other end: they might be right. Our confidence is pretty high, said Lou Williams, who was one of seven Raptors to score in double figures Wednesday as Toronto dropped a season-high 126 points on the Hawks, winning their sixth straight contest and improving to 13-2 on the campaign. Were playing at a high level, were winning games and were playing together. I think were doing a lot of things the right way, were playing good basketball, so the confidence is high. In a match-up of the Easts highest scoring teams, the Raptors came out on top. They were simply too much for Atlanta to handle. With significant offensive contributions coming from everywhere on their roster, top to bottom, they are an impossible team to game plan against. In the first quarter it was DeMar DeRozan, scoring 14 of his game-high 27 points, hitting all five of his shots. In the second, Terrence Ross scored five straight and Williams got cooking, on the way to pouring in 22 against his former club. The third belonged to Kyle Lowry, who had eight of his 14 points - he also recorded a season-best 13 assists on the night, committing just one turnover. Then the fourth quarter awakened Greivis Vasquez. The struggling back-up point guard scored the teams first 12 points of the frame and finished with 21 on just 12 shots in 16 minutes of action. Thats what its all about, thats what its going to take to win, said DeRozan. Not just me. Not just Kyle. Its going to take a collective effort, honestly. Thats what its all about. Everybody in here wants to win. Everybodys ego is put aside. Every time we step out there on the court we feel like we give ourselves a chance to win. Weve got a lot of depth, Williams added. It just shows the quality of a basketball team that we have. Three nights in a row its been somebody different sttepping up. Fred Brazil Jersey. It was me with 36 in Cleveland and [Jonas Valanciunas] at home the other night and now Greivis having a breakout game. So it just shows the depth and the character of this team. Asked about the biggest difference between these Raptors and the version that began last season 6-12 with Gay, Casey pointed to role definition. Everyone has bought in, from top to bottom, and is doing just enough to carry their weight without rocking the boat. Its one of those things where guys know who they are, they know the team, they know their role, said Casey, his team improving to 4-1 on the road for the first time in franchise history. Everyone stays in their lane. They know that the ball is going to start with Kyle [and] DeMar, its going to go through our perimeter players, its going to go inside if need be. So everybody understands that, they dont try to do too much offensively and defensively they know exactly what to do. Thats where weve grown. You can put any situation in front of us and we should be able to handle it defensively. Everybody understands their role. Theres a pecking order. Theres not a my turn, your turn type situation. After failing to reach the 20-assist plateau in seven of the first 10 games, theyve exceeded it in five straight while prioritizing ball security in the process. They committed just two turnovers in the second half Wednesday, totaling 11 on the evening. Theyre maximizing their opportunities to score and the offence has never been better. Kyles really conscientious with the ball, DeMar is conscientious with the ball, Casey continued. We have few sets that have multiple long passes, a lot of our passes are short passes. We have a guard-oriented offence. So we try to cut down on [turnovers]. I think a lot of it is just our guards are conscientious, not trying to make crazy passes. Our guys have done a good job of making the simple play, simple pass and not something thats out of the Star Wars book. Despite the record, their effort out of the gate - over the first five games or so - was suspect and raised at least some cause for concern, but this recent stretch has been encouraging. They have defeated quality teams - Memphis, Cleveland, Phoenix and now Atlanta. Theyve won their last nine games by a combined 151 points (16.8 per victory) and theyre doing it in a multitude of ways, with a number of players stepping to the plate. The Raptors are now 13-2 to begin the campaign, showing no sign of slowing down anytime soon. Only four Eastern Conference teams have started a season with a record as good or better in the last 10 years. One made it to the Conference Semis, two advanced to the East Finals, the 2007-08 Celtics won the championship. Its definitley nice, admitted DeRozan. But were not looking at it at all. Were moving on to the next one. Wholesale Throwback Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Throwback Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Cheap NFL Gear Jerseys From China Youth NFL Jerseys Cheap Cheap Jerseys From China ' ' '