Canada are in third place in Group A after an opening day 1-0 loss to Honduras at the 2017 CONCACAF Men's Under-20 Championship. Honduras’ Jorge Alvarez scored the game’s only goal in the 77th minute in a match that saw 11 Canadians, including Whitecaps FC U-18 Residency goalkeeper Thomas Hasal, make their CONCACAF youth competition debuts.
Whitecaps FC Residency graduates Aymar Sigue and Dario Zanatta also appeared in the match.
"We have to take heart from the way we played with the ball, especially in the first half, but we have to adjust now and rally the troops for the second match," said Rob Gale, Canada Soccer's men's national U-20 coach. "It's a challenge, but we know it's a three-match series so we have to respond on Monday and Thursday."
From 12 nations, only four will qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Korea Republic 2017. Mexico (3 points / +3 goals difference) and Honduras (3, +1) are the leaders in Group A followed by Canada (0, -1) and then Antigua and Barbuda (0, -3).
In the coming week, Canada will face Mexico on Monday, February 20 and then Antigua and Barbuda on Thursday, February 23. Canada will need to finish first or second in the group to advance to the second stage and play for a chance to qualify for Korea Republic 2017.
‎All of Canada's competition matches are scheduled to be broadcast live on CONCACAF's Facebook channel, with Monday’s Canada-Mexico match kicking off at 5:30 p.m. PT. Canada Soccer will provide in-match coverage from Estadio Nacional via Canada Soccer's digital channels including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Flickr.