U20s CONCACAF Championship Roster Picked

Canada’s U-20 team has announced its roster and final camp details before the 2009 CONCACAF Men’s Under-20 Championship in Trinidad & Tobago. The team will group this week in Sunrise, FL before heading off to Macoya, Trinidad & Tobago on 4 March. Canada’s first game is 7 March against Trinidad & Tobago.

‘The final camp has arrived and we are going to use it for fine tuning,’ said coach Tony Fonseca. ‘We are aware of the difficulties of the competition. The opponents are very strong and we know that there is no room for mistakes. This team is ambitious and will be ready to fight for a spot for Egypt 2009.’

The top two teams in the four-team group advance to the 13 March semi-final. They also qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Egypt 2009. Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico and Trinidad & Tobago are the four teams in group B; USA, El Salvador, Jamaica and either Honduras or St. Vincent & the Grenadines are the four teams in Group A.

Canada will spend roughly one week together in Sunrise, FL to make its final preparations before the confederation championship. In Florida, Canada will play Jamaica on 27 February and USA on 1 March. The team then heads to Trinidad & Tobago where it will play the host on 7 March, Mexico on 9 March, and Costa Rica on 11 March.

The CONCACAF final is 15 March 2009 – the first confederation U-20 men’s championship since 1996. Canada won that last championship in 1996 in Saltillo, Mexico.

Canada has qualified for each of the last four FIFA U-20 World Cups, including UAE 2003 when it reached the quarter-final stage. Should Canada qualify for Egypt 2009, it will be one of two or three countries (depending if USA also qualifies) participating in its fifth-straight FIFA U-20 World Cup. Brazil has a streak of 15-straight FIFA U-20 World Cups dating back to Australia 1981; USA is trying to make it seven straight since Malaysia 1997; Canada hopes to make it five straight since Argentina 2001.

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