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The path to the World Cup for Canada’s women’s soccer team is now clear.

The groups are set for this summer’s CONCACAF W Championship, which serves as a qualifier for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Canada will be in Group B with Costa Rica, Panama, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The tournament is scheduled for July 4-18 in Monterrey, Mexico. Eight teams have been drawn into two groups, with world No. 1 United States, Mexico, Jamaica and Haiti in Group A. The top two teams from each group will qualify for next year’s World Cup.

The winner of the tournament will also automatically earn a berth in the 2024 Olympics in Paris. The second- and third-place teams will advance to a playoff in September for the final Olympic qualification spot from CONCACAF.

Canada, ranked sixth in the world, has reached the last seven consecutive World Cups, only missing qualifying for the inaugural event in 1991.

Here is a closer look at the group.

Costa Rica

FIFA Rank: 36

Record vs Canada: 0-14-0

Last World Cup appearance: 2015

Costa Rica is the highest-ranked country in Canada’s group, but historically the Canadians have dominated, winning all 14 previous meetings.

The teams most recently met at the 2020 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship, which Canada won 1-0 – its closest margin of victory against Costa Rica since 2008. The two sides were even until the 72nd minute, when Jordyn Huitema put away the lone goal of the match.

Canada has outscored Costa Rica 13-2 in their past four meetings, with Huitema and Janine Beckie combining for seven goals.

Costa Rica’s lone World Cup appearance came in 2015, after the team finished runners-up behind the United States in the 2014 CONCACAF Women’s Championship (Canada did not take part in this tournament as the team automatically qualified for the 2015 World Cup as hosts). Costa Rica would be eliminated in the group stage of the 2015 tournament after two draws and a loss.

The Costa Ricans cruised through the qualifiers for the CONCACAF W Championship, winning their group with a perfect 4-0-0 record, outscoring opponents 22-0. Raquel “Rocky” Rodriguez, who plays with Christine Sinclair on the Portland Thorns in the National Women’s Soccer League, led her country in scoring with six goals, including a hat trick against Curaçao.

Panama

FIFA Rank: 58

Record vs Canada: 0-2-0

Last World Cup appearance: n/a

Panama was one of the biggest stories from qualifiers for the 2019 World Cup, thanks in large part to the performance of goalkeeper Yenith Bailey. The then-17-year-old made several spectacular saves, including denying a penalty against Mexico, to help Panama to an upset win in the group stage.

Panama would go on to lose to Jamaica in penalties in the third-place game, but Bailey took home the Golden Glove as the tournament’s best goalkeeper and was also named to the Best XI.

Panama’s fourth-place finish at the tournament allowed them to enter a playoff against Argentina for one final shot at World Cup qualification, but the South Americans won 5-1 on aggregate.

Bailey played just one of four games for Panama during qualifiers for this summer’s CONCACAF W Championship, but played a key role in securing her country’s spot in the next round. She made several key saves to earn a clean sheet in a 2-0 win against El Salvador in the final game, with top spot in the group and qualification for this summer’s tournament on the line.

Canada has only met Panama twice before. Their most recent meeting came in the semifinals of the 2018 CONCACAF Women’s Championship, which the Canadians won 7-0 to secure their spot in the 2019 World Cup. Sinclair and Adriana Leon both picked up a brace in the match.

The only other previous meeting came at the 2004 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament – a 6-0 win for Canada.

Trinidad and Tobago

FIFA Rank: 73

Record vs Canada: 0-8-0

Last World Cup appearance: n/a

Trinidad and Tobago survived a scare in qualifiers for this summer’s CONCACAF W Championship. They were trailing 90th-ranked Guyana in the final game, a result which would have seen the Guyanese advance. But a 91st-minute goal by Lauryn Hutchinson salvaged the draw and allowed the Soca Warriors to progress.

“The occasion, obviously, got the better of them for a little bit,” head coach Kenwyne Jones told the media after game. “But then they showed something terrific at the end, where they had an amazing team spirit and heart and never-say-die attitude to get us back in the game.”

Trinidad and Tobago has never qualified for a World Cup or Olympics. The country’s best finish in the CONCACAF Championship came in 1991, when the team finished third.

Canada has won all eight previous matches against Trinidad and Tobago by a combined score of 34-0. The two sides most recently met at the 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship. Goals by Sinclair, Beckie and Jessie Fleming helped Canada to a 6-0 win.