Canada have moved to within a victory of qualifying for the FIFA U-17 World Cup for the first time in six years. With their Thursday 4:0 victory over Curaçao, Canada will face Costa Rica in the Quarter-finals of the 2019 Concacaf Men’s Under-17 Championship with the winner promised one of four Concacaf spots to Brazil 2019.
Canada won the Round of 16 knock-out match 4:0 on Thursday 9 May in Bradenton, FL, USA, starting with a Curaçao own goal in the first half followed by Kamron Habibullah, Simon Colyn and Jayden Nelson markers in the second half. Goalkeeper Marc Kouadio and his backline posted the clean sheet.
“We have been clear that we need to grow through this tournament and improve game by game, but we also showed today that we can grow through a game,” said Andrew Olivieri, Men’s EXCEL U-14 to U-17 Program Director. “After the first half hour, I think we found our confidence, we found the rhythm, and we were able to manage the game. Going into the second half we were much better and that’s a big positive to take out of this match.”
All four Concacaf Quarter-finals are Sunday 12 May.
Canada have scored 14 goals across four matches, with back-to-back clean sheets against Barbados and Curaçao. All 20 players have featured across the four matches. Canada’s goals have been scored by Jérémie Omeonga (two), Jacen Russell-Rowe (two), Jayden Nelson (four), Kamron Habibullah (three), Simon Colyn, and own goals by Barbados and Curaçao.
Road to the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2019
The 2019 Concacaf Men’s Under-17 Championship runs 1-16 May in Bradenton, FL, USA. Following the Concacaf Round of 16, the Concacaf Quarter-finals are 12 May, the Semi-finals are 14 May, and the Championship Final is 16 May. The four nations that win their Concacaf Quarter-finals match on 12 May will also qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019, to be played later this year.