Canada U-17 boys win 2:1 over Costa Rica in Mexico

Canada Soccer’s Men’s U-17 National Team won 2:1 over Costa Rica in a Thursday youth international played in Mexico City. A Theo Rigopoulos cross was redirected by a Costa Rica defender for the opening goal and then Liam MacKenzie scored the winner in the second half before Costa Rica got one back.

Canada are in Mexico for a preparation camp ahead of the 2023 Concacaf Men’s Under-17 Championship in Guatemala next February. Coached by Andrew Olivieri, the squad will next face Mexico in four days on Monday 19 December, also to be played at the Mexican Football Federation’s training centre, the Centro de Alto Rendimiento de la Federación Mexicana de Fútbol. These are Canada’s first two international tests for this age group.

Across the full 90 minutes, Canada featured 19 different players, all of who were making their international youth debuts. Canada’s 19 debutants, in alphabetical order, were Nathaniel Abraham, Jeevan Badwal, Alessandro Biello, Richard Chukwu, Gaël de Montigny, Ruben de Sá, Andrei Dumitru, Aidan Fong, Étienne Godin, Antoni Klukowski, Matteo Landicho-Correia, Liam MacKenzie, Antoine N’Diaye, Chimere Omeze, Lucas Ozimec, Erik Pop, Theo Rigopoulos, Lazar Stefanovic, and Braden Stevanovic.

The 2023 Concacaf Men’s Under-17 Championship runs 11 to 26 February in Guatemala. Canada have been drawn into Group F alongside Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and USA. The top-three nations from the group advance to the Round of 16. From the knockout phase, the top-four nations will qualify for the FIFA U-17 Word Cup Peru 2023.

Canada Soccer’s Men’s EXCEL Program channels our nation’s exceptional players into the best soccer environments. The Canada Soccer Pathway works in collaboration with our provincial and territory partners as well as the professional clubs and academies. For Canada’s elite players, the program emphasizes player development on the pathway to representing Canada’s Men’s National Team in international soccer.

CANADA SOCCER’S MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM PROGRAM
Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team are three-time Concacaf champions, previously winning the 1985 Concacaf Championship, 2000 Concacaf Gold Cup, and 2021-22 Concacaf Qualifiers. Canada most recently qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar and have previously featured at the 1976 and 1984 Olympic Games, the 1986 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, and the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup.

Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Youth Teams have won two Concacaf titles: both the 1986 and 1996 Concacaf Men’s Youth Championships. Canada have qualified for 15 FIFA men’s youth tournaments: eight editions of the FIFA U-20 World Cup and seven editions of the FIFA U-17 World Cup. Canada most recently qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019, which was the last FIFA men’s youth competition before the global pandemic.