Canada
\u200bSoccer’s Men’s National Team Program have a Super Sunday ahead of them as two
\u200bNational Teams play important matches on the road to the FIFA World Cup Qatar
\u200b2022™ and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team face
\u200bCayman Islands in the Concacaf First Round of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™
\u200bQualifiers while Canada Soccer’s Men’s U-23 National Team face Mexico in a
\u200bone-match, winner take all showdown for a spot at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Both Canada Soccer matches will be broadcast on OneSoccer.ca
\u200bon Sunday 28 March 2021. The Cayman Islands-Canada match kicks off at 16.00 ET
\u200b/ 13.00 PT (live from
\u200bBradenton, FL, USA) while the Mexico-Canada match kicks off 21.00 ET /
\u200b18.00 PT (live from
\u200bGuadalajara, JA, MEX). Fans will find extended coverage across Canada
\u200bSoccer’s digital channels on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube featuring
\u200bthe hashtag #CANMNT for FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and #canm23 #CMOQ for Concacaf Olympic Qualifying.
#CANMNT | FIFA WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
\u200bCanada Soccer’s Men’s National Team will look to build on its early momentum on the road to Qatar 2022. The Canadian squad will look to build on their 5:1 win over Bermuda in the opening match of Group B in the Concacaf First Round of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Qualifiers this past Thursday in Orlando. Cyle Larin scored a hat trick, Alphonso Davies had three assists, and both Richie Laryea and teenage debutant Theo Corbeanu scored their first international goals for Canada.
“We’ve been focusing one game at a time on this journey”,
\u200bsaid Head Coach John Herdman. “We expect this opponent is going to be very
\u200bdifferent to Bermuda and we expect that they will be very compact and very
\u200bdifficult to break down. We have a set of players that have a clear mission and
\u200bthey have been tuning in and preparing for this opportunity. We will count on
\u200bthe energy and enthusiasm from the players that will get a chance in this
\u200bmatch.”
The Sunday match will mark the first time Canada meets
\u200bCayman Islands at the international “A” level. It will also be Canada’s second
\u200bof four matches as part of the Concacaf First Round of Qualifiers. Canada will
\u200bcomplete Group B play with matches against Aruba on 5 June and Suriname on 8
\u200bJune. With every result critical to the campaign, the Canadian group remains
\u200bfocused on taking on the long journey one match at a time.
Cayman Islands competed in Concacaf Nations League C in
\u200b2019-20 where they finished tied for first place with Barbados, narrowly losing
\u200bout on promotion due to a weaker goal difference after a positive campaign
\u200bwhich saw them earn four wins against two losses across the six match group
\u200bstage. Cayman Islands opened it’s Qatar 2022 qualifying campaign with 0:3 away
\u200bloss to Suriname on Wednesday 24 March.
From the First Round of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Qualifiers, the Group B winner will face the Group E winner in a Second Round, head-to-head series on 12 and 15 June 2021. The winner from that Second Round then advances to the Concacaf Final Round of eight nations in which each nation will play each opponent twice (once at home and once on the road).
“There is no margin for error in this First Round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers,” said midfielder Samuel Piette. “These matches can be tricky, so you have to be very careful, especially around any type of action that the opponent can put your team in trouble. We want to make our mark in Concacaf and get through the First Round with four wins, but we will take it one match at a time and we will be ready for Sunday against Cayman Islands.”
Concacaf have established Canada’s pathway for FIFA World
\u200bCup Qatar 2022™ Qualifiers beginning with a First Round being played amongst
\u200bthe Concacaf Member Associations ranked 6-35 based on the FIFA Men’s Ranking as
\u200bof 16 July 2020. From the first round of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Qualifiers,
\u200bthe Group B winner will face the Group E winner in a second-round, head-to-head
\u200bseries. The winner from that second round then advances to the Concacaf Final
\u200bRound of eight nations in which each nation will play each opponent twice (once
\u200bat home and once on the road).
#canm23 #CMOQ | CONCACAF MEN’S OLYMPIC QUALIFYING
\u200bCanada will face the host Mexico in Mexico with a spot in the Olympic Games on the line. It’s a historic opportunity for the young Canadian team as no men’s youth team has ever qualified for the Olympic Games and the Men’s National Team Program team has yet to beat Mexico in Mexico in a competitive match.
“We’re
\u200bjust 90 minutes away from the Olympic Games and regardless of the opponent that
\u200bwe are facing, it is just the one match,” said Canada goalkeeper James
\u200bPantemis. “If we put everything out there, we leave it all out on the
\u200bpitch and guys are playing for each other and working together, then we have a
\u200bchance to make history and make Canada proud.”
Both
\u200bCanada and Mexico are unbeaten in Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying, with
\u200bMexico the Group A winners after a perfect 3-0-0 group stage and Canada the
\u200bGroup B runners up after posting a 1-2-0 record, including a 1:1 draw against
\u200bgroup winners Honduras who won the group with one more goal scored.
The group stage at Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying provided
\u200bCanada’s young players with the opportunity to face three tough Concacaf
\u200bopponents who they may also face in the coming year in FIFA World Cup
\u200bQualifiers and the Concacaf Gold Cup at the international “A” level. Through an
\u200baligned Men’s National Team Program, this international tournament experience
\u200bagainst El Salvador, Haiti and Honduras is an important next step for Canada’s
\u200byoung players on their journey to the Men’s National Team.
The competition also provided depth to the Men’s National
\u200bTeam Program as several young professional players were unavailable for
\u200bConcacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying, whether they were called into the Men’s
\u200bNational Team for FIFA World Cup Qualifiers or were unavailable for the whole
\u200btournament because the pre-tournament camp and opening match fell outside the
\u200bFIFA International Calendar. In all, there were nine age-eligible players born
\u200b1997 or later who took part in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers this month, which for
\u200bthe first time ever coincided with Canada’s Olympic Qualifying campaign.
“Anytime
\u200byou play against Mexico, you are going to be a better team after that,” said
\u200bMauro Biello, Canada Soccer’s Men’s Olympic National Team. “This will be a big
\u200bchallenge for us, but the way this team has been fighting and the way this team
\u200bhas been playing defensively, I think we can build from that. It’s one match
\u200band we will be ready for it.”
This
\u200bmarks the fourth cycle in a row that Canada have reached the Semifinals in
\u200bConcacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying (2008, 2012, 2015, 2021), with only Honduras’
\u200bstreak longer at five cycles (since 2004). Canada were Olympic champions in
\u200b1904, hosted the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament in 1976, and reached the
\u200bQuarter-finals of the Olympic Games in 1984 with a senior team that qualified
\u200bfor the FIFA World Cup just one year later. Along with the men’s senior team in
\u200b1976 and 1984, the women’s senior team has qualified for four-straight Olympic
\u200bGames from 2008 to 2021. In Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying in 2008, Canada
\u200bbeat Mexico in Mexico to qualify for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
CANADA SOCCER’S MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM PROGRAM
\u200bCanada Soccer’s Men’s National Team, two-time Concacaf champions, were one of only four nations that have finished top-six across all three of Concacaf major tournaments across the past three years: fifth place in Concacaf Nations League A and sixth place at both the 2017 and 2019 Concacaf Gold Cups. In 2019 against Concacaf’s top three nations, Canada earned a victory against USA in Concacaf Nations League as well as eliminated both Mexico (U-15) and Costa Rica (U-17) in Concacaf youth competitions.