Canada men's national under-23 soccer team

Canada U-23
Nickname(s)
  • The Canucks
  • Les Rouges (The Reds)
AssociationCanadian Soccer Association
ConfederationCONCACAF (North America)
Head coachMauro Biello
Top scorerRob Friend (12)
FIFA codeCAN
First colours
Second colours
First international
Unofficial
 San Marino 0–1  
(Serravalle, San Marino; 28 March 1986)
Official
  3–0 Trinidad and Tobago 
(Burnaby, Canada; 5 May 1991)
Biggest win
  14–0 U.S. Virgin Islands 
(Saint John, Canada; 10 September 2003)
Biggest defeat
 Australia 5–0  
(Sydney, Australia; 2 June 1996)
Pan American Games
Appearances2 (first in 1999)
Best resultFourth 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

March 19 2020 CONCACAF Olympic qualifying   2–0  El Salvador Guadalajara, Mexico
13:30 Buchanan 17', 21' Report Stadium: Estadio Jalisco
Referee: Fernando Guerrero (Mexico)
March 22 2020 CONCACAF Olympic qualifying Haiti  0–0   Zapopan, Mexico
16:00 Report Stadium: Estadio Akron
Referee: Juan Gabriel Calderón (Costa Rica)
March 25 2020 CONCACAF Olympic qualifying Honduras  1–1   Guadalajara, Mexico
19:30 Maldonado 30' Report Cornelius 28' Stadium: Estadio Jalisco
Attendance: César Ramos (Mexico)
March 28 2020 CONCACAF Olympic qualifying Mexico  2–0   Guadalajara, Mexico
21:00 Antuna 58'
Vásquez 65'
Report Stadium: Estadio Jalisco
Referee: Juan Gabriel Calderón

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.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK James Pantemis (1997-02-21) February 21, 1997 7 0 Portland Timbers
18 1GK Matthew Nogueira (1998-03-18) March 18, 1998 0 0 Unattached
19 1GK Sebastian Breza (1998-03-15) March 15, 1998 0 0 CF Montréal

2 2DF Zachary Brault-Guillard (1998-12-30) December 30, 1998 4 0 FC Lugano
3 2DF Zorhan Bassong (1999-05-07) May 7, 1999 3 0 Sporting Kansas City
4 2DF Diyaeddine Abzi (1998-11-23) November 23, 1998 1 0 Unattached
5 2DF Derek Cornelius (1997-11-25) November 25, 1997 7 1 Marseille
13 2DF Marcus Godinho (1997-06-28) June 28, 1997 4 0 Korona Kielce
16 2DF Callum Montgomery (1997-05-14) May 14, 1997 2 0 Cavalry FC

6 3MF Michael BaldisimoNE (2000-04-13) April 13, 2000 5 0 Cavalry FC
8 3MF David Norman Jr. (1998-05-31) May 31, 1998 9 0 Vancouver FC
10 3MF Aidan Daniels (1998-09-06) September 6, 1998 8 0 Pacific FC
14 3MF Ryan Raposo (1999-03-05) March 5, 1999 4 0 Los Angeles FC
17 3MF Patrick Metcalfe (1998-11-11) November 11, 1998 4 0 Fredrikstad
20 3MF Lucas Dias (2003-01-18) January 18, 2003 4 0 Sporting B

7 4FW Tajon Buchanan (1999-02-08) February 8, 1999 4 2 Villareal
9 4FW Charles-Andreas Brym (1998-08-08) August 8, 1998 4 0 Almere City
11 4FW Ballou Tabla (1999-03-31) March 31, 1999 4 0 Atlético Ottawa
12 4FW Mohamed FarsiNE (1999-12-16) December 16, 1999 2 0 Columbus Crew
15 4FW Theo Bair (1999-08-27) August 27, 1999 8 1 Auxerre

  • INJ = Withdrew due to injury
  • NE = No longer eligible. Switched allegiance to another nation.
  • PRE = Preliminary squad
  • RET = Retired from the national team
  • WD = Withdrew for non-injury reason

Recent call-ups

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

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
DF Thomas Meilleur-Giguère (1997-11-13) November 13, 1997 0 0 HFX Wanderers FC 2020 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying

FW Kris Twardek (1997-03-08) March 8, 1997 4 0 Valour FC 2020 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying

Previous squads

Competitive record

Summer Olympics

Summer Olympics record Summer Olympics
Qualification record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
1992 did not qualify 10 4 2 4 18 16
1996 7 2 3 2 9 10
2000 5 2 2 1 3 2
2004 3 0 0 3 1 5
2008 5 1 2 2 7 6
2012 4 1 2 1 4 4
2016 5 1 1 3 6 10
2020 4 1 2 1 3 3
2024 Played by U–20 team
Total 0/9 43 12 14 17 51 56

Pan American Games

Pan American Games record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA
1995 did not participate
1999 Fourth place 4th of 10 6 2 2 2 6 6
2003 did not participate
2007
2011
2015 Group stage 7th of 8 3 0 1 2 1 6
2019 did not participate
Total Fourth place 2/7 9 2 3 4 7 12

Honours

See also

References

  1. ^ National Post (March 28, 2012). "Canada will face Mexico for Olympic soccer berth". Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  2. ^ "Canada M23 picks players for CONCACAF Olympic Qualifiers". September 18, 2015. Archived from the original on September 21, 2015. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  3. ^ "Canada Soccer announces squad for Concacaf Men's Olympic Qualifying". Canada Soccer. March 10, 2021. Retrieved March 10, 2021.