For more information on this match, please visit the following fixture link.

Canada will face Nicaragua tonight in its first game of the 2008 CONCACAF Women's Under-20 Championship in Puebla, Mexico. The Canucks have a 13.00 kickoff against Nicaragua at the Estadio Cuauhtémoc while group rivals Costa Rica and Jamaica kickoff at 15.30.

Every match in the CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship will be broadcast online via concacaf.com. Each match will be available on delay approximately two hours after the match’s conclusion. The match will be broadcast in its entirety in at least two segments - one for each half plus a third if extra time and penalty kicks are necessary.

The team has trained well together, first at home in Vancouver and Kelowna, BC and now the past few days in Puebla, Mexico. Says coach Bob Birarda, "the challenge now is to reproduce these recent top-level performances under pressure and in an unfamiliar environment at the international level."

While Canada has never faced Nicaragua's women's youth team in international competition, it is confident going into its first match. Among the current group of 17 players is five players with recent senior-team experience: Julie Armstrong, Taryne Boudreau, Kaylyn Kyle, Monica Lam-Feist and Lexi Marton.

"This Canadian group has not been tested in this situation of late, but so many of these players have extensive international exprerience that they will lead us through the challenges that lay ahead," says Birarda. "Everyone is just excited to get game one started."

Canada will be without three senior players for the first match. Jonelle Filigno, Jodi-Ann Robinson and Sophie Schmidt were most recently in Suwon, Korea Republic for the ongoing 2008 Peace Queen Cup. They are en route to Mexico and should be ready for Canada's second match.

"For sure, we are all looking forward to adding the final three players into the group as soon as possible and improving every game throughout the tournament," says Birarda. 

While Group A teams play today, the four Group B teams - Trinidad & Tobago, United States, Cuba and hosts Mexico - play tomorrow night. Canada, whose title sponsor is Winners, plays Nicaragua on 17 June (13.00), Jamaica on 19 June (13.00), and Costa Rica on 21 June (14.30). 

Should Canada advance, it will play a team from Group B (United States, Trinidad & Tobago, Cuba or hosts México) in one of the semi-finals on 25 June (13.00 or 15.30). The two semi-final winners advance to the championship final (14.30 on 28 June) while the two losers move on to the consolation match (12.00 on 28 June). 

The top-three teams in the CONCACAF Women's Under-20 Championship will qualify for the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Chile 2008. The FIFA tournament runs 19 November to 7 December. Canada has participated in every FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup since the tournament had its inception in 2002.