Maria Sanchez is in Moncton, Canada, and she’s tired all the time. Between training with her Mexican Women’s National teammates to prepare for their opening game of the Women’s World Cup, reviewing video and taking trips to the mall, the Idaho State freshman is napping.

The whole team is.

It’s not that Sanchez, an American Falls native, isn’t beyond thrilled to be at the World Cup. But her whole squad has been feverishly working to prepare for Mexico’s matchup Tuesday with Colombia at 2 p.m. MST., a game that will be televised on Fox.

The pressure to perform well — on the world’s stage, no less — is high, especially since the other two teams in Mexico’s group are France and England, the third and sixth-ranked squads in the world. Mexico is currently ranked No. 25 and Colombia sits at No. 28.

Sanchez wants to help Mexico leave the Colombia game with a victory, potentially putting themselves in position to claim one of two spots in the Round of 16.

For the first time in her life, Sanchez is not part of her team’s starting 11. She’ll watch from the bench as Mexico steps on the field at Moncton Stadium. More than anything, she wants a chance to play. Sanchez wants to make an impact on the world’s stage.

“I’ve been working hard in practice to at least get some playing some,” Sanchez said on the phone from Moncton. “So it’s really important because I can be recognized by more people, hopefully. And just make my story better.” In the leadup to this afternoon’s matchup, Mexico took on Costa Rica in two friendly matches. Sanchez played in the second half of both, which Mexico won 2-1 and 3-0.

Those games made a big difference for how comfortable she feels on the field at a national level.

“I’ve been nervous and all of that,” she said. “But I think I’ve been improving on that. I’m getting used to the game and what’s expected of us and how we play as a team.”

The more time Sanchez spends with her teammates, the better she feels and the more her confidence grows. It was just a matter of months ago that the former Idaho prep star was trying out for Mexico’s U-20 team. She couldn’t have anticipated back then that the national coaches would one day choose her to join 22 others to represent Mexico in a tournament that only happens once every four years.

But now she’s there, donning the Mexican Women’s National Team’s jersey. It’s all sinking in.

“It feels more real now. It’s becoming a reality,” Sanchez said. “Just treat it as it is. It’s a World Cup game. It’s important. We can’t really be nervous about it. We just have to give it our all. Just like we have been giving it every day in practice.”

LOOKING BACK

The Idaho State Journal released the top 10 stories from the 2014-15 academic school year Sunday. It was an arduous list to compile and even more difficult to rank.

How exactly does one go about deciding that Elijah Armstrong’s remarkable senior season that capped off a remarkable career deserved landing at the No. 1 spot?

Where were we right? And where were we dead wrong? Let us know by commenting on the story at idahostatejournal.com, or email sports@journalnet.com.

LOOKING FORWARD

The Idaho High School Rodeo Association’s state finals are going on all week. The action climaxes with the Top 20 performance Saturday starting at 10 a.m.

Apart from rodeo, the Gate City Grays travel to Brigham City on Tuesday and Logan on Thursday before hosting the Northern Utah League All-Star Game on Saturday at Halliwell Park. Weather has hindered a couple of Grays home games this season, but the forecast for Saturday calls for 80-degree, sunny weather. No rain in sight.

QUOTABLE

“We take a lot of naps or just watch TV. It’s pretty much all we can do. Or if we go out as a team, we go to a mall or go have lunch somewhere else. We’re pretty tired most of the time.” — Maria Sanchez on the Mexican Women’s National Team’s free time away from the soccer field.