Just because it’s mission accomplished for the Canadian men’s under-17 team, that doesn’t mean the mission is over. Not by a long shot.
Canada twice overcame one-goal deficits to beat Jamaica 4-2 this past weekend in the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF U-17 Championships. In doing so, the Canadians automatically qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup to be staged in the United Arab Emirates in October.
Now Canada meets hosts Panama in Wednesday’s semifinal of the CONCACAF competition.
Wednesday programming alert: Watch Canada vs. Panama in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Men’s U-17 Championships live on Sportsnet World. Coverage begins at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT.
But even though he accomplished his goal of qualifying for the World Cup, Canadian coach Sean Fleming isn’t satisfied. Fleming was in charge of the Canadian side that lost to the United States in extra time of the finals of the 2011 CONCACAF Championships.
Fleming’s pride was stung with that result, and he’s anxious to make amends by helping Canada win the tournament for the first time in history before flying off to the World Cup later this year.
"I told (the players), you don’t know when these (opportunities) will come. We want to win our confederation championship. Yes, we feel good (that) we’ve accomplished our goal of qualifying for the World Cup, but we want to go out and do our best and get to the final," Fleming told reporters during a Monday afternoon conference call.
Against Jamaica, Canada overturned a 2-1 disadvantage by scoring three goals in the final 30 minutes of regulation to punch their ticket for the United Arab Emirates. Andrew Gordon, with a pair of goals, and Jordan Hamilton, who scored one goal and set up another, were the decisive figures in the Canadian win.
With the victory, Canada qualified for its second straight U-17 World Cup, having competed at the 2011 competition in Mexico. This also marks the sixth time that Canada has qualified for a FIFA U-17 World Cup.
“To go to one World Cup is a dream,” said Fleming. “To be going to two is hard to describe.”
Fleming attributes the team’s success in Panama to two key factors: character and offensive creativity.
"We think we have some individual qualities in the attacking phase of the game that allow us to ask some big question of teams," Fleming said.
"There’s some character within the group. There’s great leadership within this group; when we did go down a goal, we stuck to the cause and didn’t panic. All of those are contributing factors. The overall kids’ attitude and commitment has been fantastic. It’s a real credit to them."
Attacking flair is something that Canadian teams at all age levels have traditionally lacked, so Fleming is naturally encouraged by this crop of youngsters being able to show more creativity on the field.
"You need all elements to have a solid and competitive team," Fleming offered. "Teams are so well organized now that you do need the creative individual flair in the final third to get those opportunities and to score."
Panama poses a tough test for Canada, as the host nation will benefit from a partisan and hostile crowd.
"They’re a very good team. They’re together nearly all the time when they’re here in panama. They’re very technical, very well coached, and very well organized," Fleming said.
NOTE: Check back with sportsnet.ca on Wednesday morning, as John Molinaro will have more on the U-17 team and what the team’s success in Panama means for long-term player development in Canada.