|
|
The Canadian under 17 women are world cup bound!
Last Thursday, the baby reds cruised past Jamaica 5-0 in their CONCACAF semi-final, punching their ticket to the 2014 U17 World Cup. With goals from Marie-Mychèle Métivier, Emily Borgmann, captain Jessie Fleming, Sarah Kinzner and Marie Levasseur, the young Canucks showed great poise on a hot evening in Montego Bay, Jamaica and completed the main priority of the CONCACAF tournament.
With qualification out of the way, the women turned their attention to the CONCACAF final Saturday night against Mexico, who, in a surprising turn of events, knocked out the United States in the other semi-final.
After 90 minutes and a stalemate 0-0 score, the final went straight into penalty kicks. (FIFA got rid of the two 15 minute extra time halves for the under 17 age group in 2011.)
Unfortunately, Canada missed two of their first three penalties, and Mexico was perfect, winning the kicks and CONCACAF gold by a margin of 4-2.
Despite the narrow defeat, under 17 coach and EXCEL program director Beverly Priestman praised the team. “In possession this team has a lot of strengths we just have to keep working on it.”
Priestman added, “I’m really, really proud of the girls. If you look at what this team’s about, it’s about future national team players. I think losing on penalties it’s hard for the girls but ultimately, there have been some girls who stepped up in this tournament and are knocking on the door.”
The 2014 U17 World will be held in Costa Rica beginning March 15th.
With Canada and Mexico now qualified, there are just six spots to be determined- three from Europe, two from Africa and one from Oceania.
As hosts, Costa Rica are automatically qualified, and China, Japan, Korea DPR, Nigeria, Venezuela, Colombia, and Paraguay have all booked their ticket as well.
Semi-Final Highlights: Canada 5 – 0 Jamaica
Final Highlights: Canada 0 – 0 Mexico (Mexico win 4-2 in penalties)
|