Canada to announce U-20 roster on Sunday
Posted on 25 March 2011 in Men's U-20 Team
Canada will announce its final roster this weekend for the 2011 CONCACAF Men’s Under-20 Championship. Coach Valerio Gazzola will make his final selection on Sunday before the team leaves its Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA camp for Ciudad Guatemala. Canada is taking part in the continental championship - the official qualifier for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Colombia 2011 - from 28 March to 10 April."We are looking forward to representing Canada proudly," said Canadian U-20 head coach Gazzola.
Each team is allowed to select 20 players. Players must be born 1991 or later. Over the current two-year cycle, coach Gazzola has seen 53 different players in his national U-20 camps in preparation for the CONCACAF and FIFA competitions. One week ago, coach Gazzola narrowed his list down to 23 players for the pre-qualification camp.
Of note, goalkeeper Roberto Stillo and forward Nicholas Lindsay were unavailable for the pre-qualification camp because of injuries.
Canada will be facing Guadeloupe and Costa Rica in the Group Stage of the 2011 CONCACAF Men’s Under-20 Championship. The championship features four groups of three teams, with two teams from each group advancing to the quarter-final phase. Winners of the quarter-final phase will qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Colombia 2011.
The only exception to the FIFA qualification scenario will be if Guadeloupe wins its quarter-final match. While Guadeloupe is an associate member of CONCACAF and eligible to win a CONCACAF championship, it is not a FIFA member and cannot qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. As such, should Guadeloupe advance into the CONCACAF final four, the following qualification scenario for teams 5-8 (those teams that lose their quarter-final match) will determine the fourth FIFA qualifier:
1. The Quarter-Final loser which earned the most points in the Group Stage (Preliminary Round).
2. If more than one team is tied for the most number of points, then a drawing of lots will be used.
Fans can watch the 2011 CONCACAF Men’s Under-20 Championship live via CONCACAF.com from 28 March to 10 April. Canada’s preliminary round matches are 28 March against Guadeloupe (18.00 local / 20.00 ET / 17.00 PT) and 1 April against Costa Rica (18.00 local / 20.00 ET / 17.00 PT). The quarter-final matches are 5-6 April, the semi-final matches are 8 April, and the match for third place and championship final are 10 April.
To date, Canada has qualified for seven FIFA U-20 World Cups, including five of the last seven biennial competitions. This year’s FIFA U-20 World Cup Colombia 2011 runs 29 July to 20 August.
