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In just under a week’s time Canada will begin their quest to qualify for the 2013 FIFA U20 World Cup in Turkey later this year (June – July) with the start of qualifying in the CONCACAF U20 Championships taking place in Puebla, Mexico.
See also: Canada names U20 roster for pre-tournament camp in Mexico
This is a tournament that holds significant importance for not only the future but also the present of the Canadian Men’s National Team, as the rebuild of the program continues. Qualification for the 2013 FIFA U20 World Cup would provide a true acid test for this group of players and would give them another golden opportunity to pick up international experience against some of the world’s best young talent, something that is universally agreed upon as an ingredient that is much needed.
This young group of players under Coach Nick Dasovic will open up the tournament against familiar CONCACAF foes Cuba, as they were Canada’s group stage opposition in both the 2012 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying tournament as well as 2014 World Cup Qualifying. Cuba qualified for this tournament as a representative of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) and have been put through their paces since July 2012. They will be coming into this tournament with some confidence given that they were unbeaten during qualifying.
For Canada, the two players who will likely take up key leadership roles within this group are defender Doneil Henry and midfielder Samuel Piette. Both of them have picked up recent important international experience during Olympic Qualifying as well as earning call ups for Senior National Team camps and Friendly matches, including matches against USA, Denmark and Trinidad & Tobago.
Many other players in this group will have fond memories of Mexico, having represented Canada at the FIFA U17 World Cup, where standout players included goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau (who’s tournament was cut short due to injury) as well as midfielders Bryce Alderson (captain of the side), Keven Aleman and the aforementioned Piette.
Although that group of players only managed to pick up two points and were eliminated at the group stages at the expense of eventual quarterfinalists England and Finalists Uruguay, it was a major point of growth for the program, much like this tournament and the prize of qualification to a World Cup would be.
It all kicks off February 18th with Canada vs. Cuba set to play at 8PM EST. The matches can be seen streaming on CONCACAF TV at http://www.concacaf.com.
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