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Story by Richard Scott
Canada will kick off their FIFA U-17 World Cup Indonesia 2023 journey with a tough match against the European semifinalists Spain at Stadion Manahan in Surakarta this Friday 10 November. It’s the opening day of the tournament with Group B opponents Mali and Uzbekistan playing first followed by the Spain-Canada match at 19.00 local (07.00 ET / 04.00 PT).
“The first match is always critical, it’s a big one and it sets the tone for the tournament, but I don’t think you could ask for a better team to play in your first match to get the boys motivated,” said Andrew Olivieri, Canada Soccer’s U-17 National Team Coach. “It’s their first World Cup ever at this age, so you know that they will be focused and clear.”
Across Group B, Canada will face Uzbekistan on Monday 13 November at Stadion Manahan (19.00 local / 07.00 ET / 04.00 PT) and then Mali on Thursday 16 November at Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium in Benowo (16.00 local / 04.00 ET / 01.00 PT). In Canada throughout the competition, all the matches will be broadcast through TSN and RDS. Fans will find extended coverage across Canada Soccer’s digital channels on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter featuring the hashtag #canm17.
This marks the first FIFA U-17 World Cup since the global pandemic and the first time Indonesia has hosted a FIFA youth tournament. Beyond the group stage which runs 10-18 November, the Round of 16 is scheduled for 20-21 November, the Quarterfinals are scheduled for 24-25 November, the Semifinals on 28 November, the Match for Third Place on 1 December, and the Final on Saturday 2 December.
Ahead of Canada’s opening match, coach Olivieri wasn’t about to show his hand to the local Indonesian media that presented Spain as the group favourites because they were the seeded team based on their ranking from the past five FIFA U-17 World Cups. Olivieri simply noted that to beat Spain, it would take a collective effort fueled by discipline, resilience and bravery.
“They’re the first seed in the group and you know that they’re going to have a lot of quality, but I can’t say that they’re the toughest because Uzbekistan and Mali have shown some really good quality and Mali is a good squad that could have won the African Championship. We have no doubt that we are in for three tough matches, but we start with a country that is well known for being at the top of the world’s game.”
This year marks Canada’s eighth participation at the FIFA U-17 World Cup since the tournament was hosted in Canada back in 1987 (when it was in fact still a U-16 tournament). The biennial tournament features 24 nations from around the world including four nations from Concacaf. Canada qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup back in February through the Concacaf Under-17 Championship in Guatemala.
CANADA SOCCER’S MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM PROGRAM
Canada Soccer’s Men’s EXCEL Program channels our nation’s exceptional players from the best soccer environments across the globe. Domestically, the Canada Soccer Pathway works in collaboration with our provincial and territory partners as well as our 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.
The FIFA U-17 World Cup Indonesia 2023™ provides an important development step towards future Concacaf and FIFA youth competitions at the U-17 and U-20 levels and more importantly a step towards competing at the international level for Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team at Concacaf, FIFA and Olympic tournaments. Since the last FIFA U-17 World Cup four years ago at Brazil 2019, already a trio of those players have earned call ups to the Men’s National Team (Jayden Nelson, Ralph Prio, Jacen Russell-Rowe).
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