Canada men's national under-23 soccer team explained

Canada U-23
Badge:Canadian Olympic Committee logo.svg
Fifa Trigramme:CAN
Association:Canadian Soccer Association
Confederation:CONCACAF (North America)
Coach:Mauro Biello
Top Scorer:Rob Friend (12)
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First Game:Unofficial
0–1
(Serravalle, San Marino; 28 March 1986)
Official
Canada 3–0 Trinidad and Tobago
(Burnaby, Canada; May 5, 1991)
Largest Win: Canada 14–0 U.S. Virgin Islands
(Saint John, Canada; September 10, 2003)
Largest Loss: Australia 5–0 Canada
(Sydney, Australia; June 2, 1996)
2Ndregional Cup Apps:2
2Ndregional Name:Pan American Games
2Ndregional Cup First:1999
2Ndregional Cup Best:Fourth place (1999)

The Canada U-23 men's national soccer team (also known as Canada Olympic soccer team) represents Canada in international soccer at this age level. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association, the governing body for soccer in Canada.[1]

Unlike UEFA member associations that use U-21 regional competitions as Olympic qualifying, as a member of CONCACAF, Canada's U-23 team competes in regional qualifying in the same year as the Summer Olympics, and its call-ups are traditionally only limited to players under 23 years of age.

History

2008 qualifying

Known for his vocal antics on the touchline, Nick Dasovic led Canada through Olympic qualifying in 2008, drawing Mexico 1–1 and helping to eliminate the heavily favoured Mexican side in the process. After a highly promising 5–0 win over Guatemala on a night when Mexico had to better that result against Haiti but could only win 5–1, Canada fell to the United States 3–0 in the semifinal, losing out on a spot in Beijing at the Olympics that summer. Canada recovered to defeat Guatemala in the third-place playoff, a rematch of their first-round game, winning on penalties (5–3) after a scoreless draw through 120 minutes.

2012 qualifying

Tony Fonseca led Canada to an opening game 0–0 draw against El Salvador. Following this, Canada stunned the United States 2–0, contributing to their surprising early elimination on home soil. Canada disappointed in their final group stage game with a 1–1 tie versus Cuba, setting up a more difficult semi-final for them against Mexico, which they would lose 3–1.

2016 qualifying

It was announced in August 2015 that Canada head coach Benito Floro would be in charge of the Olympic team. The final squad for qualification was announced on September 18, 2015.[2]

Coaching history

Results & fixtures

2021

Players

Current squad

Players in bold have been capped with the senior team.
– designated overage player.

The following 20 players were named to the squad for the 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship.[3] Caps and goals as of March 28, 2021, after the game against Mexico.

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up within the last 12 months and are still eligible at U23 level.

Previous squads

CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship
Pan American Games

Competitive record

Summer Olympics

Summer Olympics recordSummer Olympics
Qualification record
YearResultPosition
1992did not qualify104241816
19967232910
2000522132
2004300315
2008512276
2012412144
20165113610
2020412133
2024Played by U–20 team
Total0/9431214175156

Pan American Games

Pan American Games record
YearResultPosition
1995did not participate
1999Fourth place4th of 10622266
2003did not participate
2007
2011
2015Group stage7th of 8301216
2019did not participate
Total Fourth place 2/7 9 2 3 4 7 12

Honours

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Canada will face Mexico for Olympic soccer berth . National Post . March 29, 2012 . March 28, 2012 . https://archive.today/20130129152149/http://sports.nationalpost.com/2012/03/28/canada-will-face-mexico-for-olympic-soccer-berth/ . January 29, 2013 . dead .
  2. Web site: Canada M23 picks players for CONCACAF Olympic Qualifiers. September 18, 2015. September 18, 2015. September 21, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150921011351/http://canadasoccer.com/canada-m23-picks-players-for-concacaf-olympic-qualifiers-p158531. dead.
  3. Web site: Canada Soccer announces squad for Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying . Canada Soccer . 10 March 2021 . 10 March 2021.