Bev Priestman is not short of confidence in her team’s chances of hoisting the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup this summer.

The Canadian women’s national team will head to the Oceanic continent in July hoping to replicate their gold medal-winning performance at the Tokyo 2020.

That Olympic success began to lay the foundation for grassroots soccer in Canada and Priestman believes winning the World Cup would be a huge catalyst for building on that base.

“If we can win this World Cup which we can, I fully believe that, it’s only going to kick start again and add to what the likes of Diana [Matheson] and Steph [Labbé] have put their heart and soul into,” Priestman told CBC’s Anastasia Bucsis on the Player’s Own Voice podcast.

Although Priestman is optimistic, winning the tournament will not be an easy task, not only because of the deeper field of teams thanks to the increased coverage the sport has gained, but also because of the added pressure on the team and on herself.

That stress of winning doesn’t only come from outside sources like the media but also from within, especially after winning one of the highest honours in women’s soccer.

“I always said the years after that gold medal would be the toughest part of my career,” said the national team head coach. “Did I really enjoy the qualifiers for the World Cup? If I’m being completely honest, that’s a massive amount of pressure.”

Even with all the added pressure, the Consett native believes that the depth of talent in Canadian women’s soccer will be an x-factor heading into the tournament.

Picking the SheBelieves squad, I’m like imagine if Deanne Rose wasn’t injured or Nichelle Prince… so for me there’s an incredible amount of depth.”

The problem is that sometimes, these players don’t get a chance to showcase their talent at a younger age in Canada due to the lack of the kinds of resources that facilitate the traditional development stages in soccer, such as having youth teams at various age groups.

That is why replicating the success of Tokyo 2020 will be crucial for the evolution of grassroots soccer across the country, especially on the women’s side. Success on a global stage means more sponsors would want to be involved which would generate much-needed financial gains for the growth of the program.

“I only think if we could afford to give the youth players what they should get compared to other nations, imagine what they could do on the world stage, you know?” said Priestman.

Although the program is playing catch-up when it comes to available resources for women’s soccer, the gaffer believes that there is a certain Canadian-ness that gives the team an edge over other nations. She used a typically Canadian analogy to explain it, too.

“There is something in a Canadian makeup, when you talk about a culture having to shovel snow at -30 [degrees Celsius]… they can do anything mentally, there’s something unique that is really special.”

Canada kicks off their 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup against Nigeria on July 21, and will share the group with co-hosts Australia and the Republic of Ireland.