Canada have secured their spot in the Round of 16 after winning 2-0 against Barbados at Pensativo Stadium in their second group phase match at the 2023 Concacaf Mens’ Under-17 Championship in Antigua,Guatemala. Liam MacKenzie and Alessandro Biello were the goalscorers while goalkeeper Nathaniel Abraham and his backline posted the clean sheet. Captain Biello was named player of the match.
“We can be very pleased with the first two matches,” said Andrew Olivieri, Canada Soccer’s Men’s U-17 Coach. “As important as the results were, the boys were able to put together two solid winning performances with some clear growth from our pre-tournament friendly through these first two group matches. We have to give them some real credit for the attitude they’ve showed since our first camp in October. There’s a clear desire to get better everyday and they know there’s work to do if we’re going to achieve our goal here in Guatemala.”
CANADA SOCCER’S MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM
Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team are the reigning Kings of Concacaf, having finished first overall in the Concacaf Final Round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers from September 2021 to March 2022. It marked the third time that Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team won a Concacaf title, having previously won the 1985 Concacaf Championship and the 2000 Concacaf Gold Cup.
Across FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, Canada posted 14 wins, four draws and just two losses over three rounds as they became the first nation from the region to qualify for Qatar with a 4:0 home win on 27 March 2022 in Toronto. Canada scored a Men’s National Team record 54 goals across the cycle while Cyle Larin set the Canadian record for goals (13), Alphonso Davies set the Canadian record for assists (eight), and Milan Borjan set the Canadian record for clean sheets (nine). Of note, both Larin (13) and Jonathan David (nine) were the top-two goalscorers across all Concacaf nations in 2021-22 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
Throughout the qualifying campaign, Canada set numerous team and individual records, also setting a Concacaf record for the longest undefeated streak in a FIFA World Cup Qualifiers campaign. Canada set their own Men’s National Team records for consecutive wins (eight) and longest home undefeated streak (14 matches). Across 2021, Canada were the “Most Improved Side” on the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings.
