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This isn’t so much a post as it is a series of semi-formed ideas that will likely be explored over the next seven months or so.

That’s the most frustrating part about all of this: all the anxious hand-wringing and armchair scouting and group stage prognosticating will have to last for more than 210 days. That’s forever.

• Lady luck is not on Canada’s side. The team was drawn into Group A with the likes of Germany, France and Nigeria. Carolina Morace’s team had seemingly finally arrived on the international stage with its surprising title run in 2010 CONCACAF WWCQ. The spine of the team (notably ace striker Christine Sinclair, dependable midfielder Diana Matheson, and rock solid central defender Candace Chapman) is in its peak years. Promising talents like Jonelle Filigno, Sophie Schmidt, Josée Bélanger, and Kara Lang (who seemingly never ages) are all on the lean side of 25. Morace employed an effective and efficient 4-3-3 in World Cup qualifying. Canada’s defense was absolutely watertight in Cancun and went without conceding a single goal in four games. The back four will need to be just as tidy in the World Cup’s most dangerous group. The opening match against Germany will be crucial.

• It’s an unsettling thought but it’s what commenters on ESPN seem to be most interested in. What if the United States and North Korea (and possibly by extension, South Korea and China) are drawn in to armed conflict by the time the two teams meet in Dresden on June 28th, 2011? Tempers have flared in recent days when North Korea unexpectedly attacked the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong with artillery shelling on November 25. It may (and hopefully will) be a crackpot idea but have two warring nations ever been drawn into the same group in a World Cup before?

• Will Colombia’s Yoreli Rincon be the 2007 Marta of 2011? The attacking talent won’t turn 18 until two weeks after the World Cup ends so saying she’s still a raw talent is an understatement. Rincon helped lead Colombia into the semifinals of the 2010 U-20 FIFA Women’s World over the likes of France and Sweden. It was a terrific accomplishment for a team that had never previously appeared in a FIFA World Cup. Prior to that, she played a part in Colombia’s Final finish in the 2010 U-20 Sudamericano Femenino. The team were ultimately undone 2-0 by Brazil. Her transition to the senior level has not been any less fruitful. Rincon scored in four of Colombia’s seven games in the 2010 Sudamericano Femenino, including the only goal in the critical 1-1 draw with Chile that essentially put Colombia in the World Cup. And now word is that the talented teen will be joining U-20 teammate Orianica Velasquez at Indiana University next season. She’ll be the state of Indiana’s best sporting entity since Larry Bird.

• Why can’t three teams advance out of the group stage? As was expected, the configuration of each group means that a couple former quarterfinalists (or perhaps semifinalists) will be sent home early. Group B is the only group that is not composed of three teams that have previously made it to the quarterfinals or beyond. Forget the gloomy terms, every group is a group of life.

That’s all for now. In the meantime some Women’s World Cup history in video form.

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