It’s been eight long years.
That’s how long it’s been since the Canadian men’s team last played at the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Canada will try to end that streak with a strong showing at this month’s CONCACAF U-20 Championship in Jamaica—a tournament that doubles as the qualifiers for the U-20 World Cup.
Here’s all you need to know about this year’s CONCACAF Championship.
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How does the tournament work?
The 12-team event, scheduled for Jan. 9–24 in Kingston and Montego Bay, will send four teams to the FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand in June.
Canada has been drawn into Group B with Cuba, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras and defending CONCACAF champion Mexico. Group A includes Aruba, Guatemala, Jamaica, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States.
Both group winners advance to the tournament final and automatically qualify for the World Cup. The second- and third-placed teams from each group will then be re-seeded based on their group stage results and will square off in playoff games to determine the final two World Cup berths.
Canada begins play on Jan. 10 against Haiti, and then takes on Mexico (Jan. 12), El Salvador (Jan. 15), Cuba (Jan. 19) and Honduras (Jan. 22). All of Canada’s group-stage matches will take place in Montego Bay.
Will Canada get out of the group?
Canadian coach Rob Gale concedes it’ll be tough, but believes a top-three finish is “doable.”
“I think ours is the tougher group because every team can take points off each other,” Gale told Sportsnet. “We’re confident (we can get out of the group). It’s doable, but you don’t get anything for free in football. It’s five tough games. It’s a dogfight of a group.”
The Reds recently completed a successful tour of Europe that saw them earn a 2-2 draw with England in Bournemouth, and notch wins over the United States and Russia’s under-21 team in Marbella, Spain.
But Gale warns that Canada can’t rest on its laurels.
“Although we’re fully confident in ourselves and our abilities, we also know it’s going to be a scrap and a fight (in Jamaica) against teams that are used to playing in the heat and those conditions,” Gale said. “What we’ve done in the past doesn’t matter—those results (in Europe) aren’t relevant. They count for nothing.”
What about Canada’s group opponents?
Gale characterized Haiti as a “difficult and direct opponent.”
“They’re physical,” Gale said. “They’ve got good speed, they’ve got some good technicians on the field, they’re comfortable on the ball.”
Mexico pose the biggest challenge.
“If you look at that squad, a lot of their players have been at the last two Under-17 World Cups. So they’re no slouches on the world stage, but we’ll go into the game with no fear,” Gale stated.
“Cuba is similar to Haiti—they have physical players, with good speed and strength. El Salvador is a very tricky opponent—great technical players. And Honduras is wily.”
Who’s playing for Canada?
Gale announced his 20-player roster earlier this week:
• Goalkeepers: Marco Carducci (Vancouver Whitecaps), Nolan Wirth (Oregon State University)
• Defenders: Samuel Adekugbe (Vancouver Whitecaps), Alexander Comsia (RC Strasbourg/France), Luca Gasparotto (Rangers FC/Scotland), Jackson Farmer (Vancouver Whitecaps), Jordan Haynes (Vancouver Whitecaps), Brandon John (Erzgebirge Aue/Germany), Rares (Chris) Serban (University of British Columbia)
• Midfielders: Manuel Aparicio (Toronto FC), Louis Béland-Goyette (Montreal Impact), Hanson Boakai (FC Edmonton), Marco Bustos (Vancouver Whitecaps), Kianz Froese (Vancouver Whitecaps), Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé (Montreal Impact), Chris Nanco (Syracuse University), Michael Petrasso (Queens Park Rangers)
• Forwards: Calum Fergusson (Inverness Caldeonian Thistle/Scotland), Jordan Hamilton (Toronto FC), Cyle Larin (unattached)
What about Carreiro and Aird?
Midfielders Dylan Carreiro and Fraser Aird are two of Canada’s brightest prospects, and Carreiro is the U-20 team’s captain. So how come both aren’t on Gale’s squad list?
The Canadian coach had come to an agreement with Carreiro’s pro club, Scottish Premiership outfit Dundee, to release the Canadian for the CONCACAF tournament even though FIFA rules stipulate that teams are not required to let players go for youth tournaments.
Gale explained on the day Carreiro was set to fly out and join his Canadian teammates that Dundee changed its mind and decided to keep him.
“It was a very late decision. I can’t say I was best pleased with the club and the way they handled it. They ended up issuing an apology and their assistant coach ended up accepting a phone call from me and apologized. The club felt a little bit embarrassed about how they handled it,” Gale told Sportsnet.
Gale also contacted Scottish Championship side Glasgow Rangers, but couldn’t convince them to release Aird. Gale ended up filling the hole in the roster left by Carreiro by calling up Vancouver Whitecaps youth team member Jackson Farmer.
How has Canada fared at the U-20 World Cup?
The first U-20 World Cup was held in 1977 in Tunisia. Canada first qualified in 1979 (in Japan) and has participated in the tournament eight times.
Canada’s best showing was in 2003, when they made it to the quarterfinals.
Canada has not qualified for the tournament since 2007 when it hosted the event—the Reds finished dead last, losing all three games and failing to score a single goal.