Bring on the qualifiers.
Canada’s U-20 men’s national team capped off an undefeated series of friendlies in preparation for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup Qualifiers with a 1-0 win over the United States Tuesday in Marbella, Spain.
Midfielder Dylan Carreiro provided the scoring for Canada in the fifth minute and Whitecaps FC Residency graduate Nolan Wirth posted a clean sheet as Canada held on for their second straight win.
Four current Whitecaps FC players also appeared in the match. Defender Sam Adekugbe and midfielder Marco Bustos got the start, while midfielder Kianz Froese and Residency defender/midfielder Jordan Haynes were both subbed on in the 68th minute.
Tuesday’s match brings Canada’s U-20 camp to an end. The Red and White went undefeated in their three friendlies, drawing England before defeating Russia and now the U.S.
USA Under-20s:
Santiago Castaño -- Tyler Turner, Matt Miazga, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Shaquell Moore -- Kellyn Acosta, Russell Canouse (71' Lynden Gooch) -- Tommy Thompson (82' Andrija Novakovich), Junior Flores (82' Joel Sonora), Romain Gall -- Dembakwi Yomba (58' Amando Moreno)
Canada Under-20s:
Nolan Wirth -- Sam Adekugbe, Alexander Comsia, Chris Serban, Luca Gasparatto -- Jeremy Gagnon-Lapare (46' Jordan Hamilton), Louis Beland-Goyette, Marco Bustos (68' Kianz Froese), Dylan Carreiro (88' Sadi Jalali), Manny Aparicio, Hanson Boakai (68' Jordan Haynes)
The 2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, which will serve as qualifiers for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, are set to take place in January.
Canada will play out of Group B in the 12-team tournament alongside Cuba, El Salvador, Mexico, Honduras, and Haiti in a group based in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Four FIFA U-20 World Cup spots will be awarded in the competition. The new tournament format sees the teams divided up into two groups of six with both group winners winning FIFA U-20 World Cup berths while advancing to the tournament final with the second and third placed teams in each group will play-off for the other two berths.
Each team will play five matches in the group stage. See Canada’s schedule below:
January 10: vs. Haiti
January 12: vs. Mexico
January 15: vs. El Salvador
January 19: vs. Cuba
January 22: vs. Honduras
The tournament final and playoff games take place on January 25.
