Young Canadians in search of first-ever win at FIFA U-17 World Cup in Indonesia

In its eighth trip to the FIFA U-17 World Cup, Canada is still looking for its first win.

And that hunt won’t be any easier at the 24-team tournament that opens Friday in Indonesia with Spain, Mali and Uzbekistan awaiting Andrew Olivieri’s side in Group B.

The goal is simple – “to put the [Canadian] shirt in a better place” at the youth level, said Olivieri, Canada Soccer’s men’s national youth excel director.

The Canadians open Friday against Spain before facing Uzbekistan on Monday, with both games at Manahan Stadium in Surakarta. They wrap up group play Nov. 16 against Mali at Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium in Surabaya, a port city about 215 kilometres to the east.

Spain has finished runner-up at the U-17 men’s competition on four occasions (1991, 2003, 2007 and 2017) and placed third twice (1997, 2009) while Mali was beaten by Nigeria in the 2015 final and finished fourth in 2017. Uzbekistan is 5-3-1 in three trips to the tournament and made the quarter-finals in 2011, losing to eventual runner-up Uruguay.

The Canadians can expect a torrid evening Friday. The forecasts calls for a high of 39 C, although the temperature should drop for the 7 p.m. local time kickoff.

“The heat and the humidity is a factor,” said Olivieri, whose team arrived in Indonesia on Oct. 30 to help acclimatize to the steamy conditions.

The tournament runs through Dec. 2 with Jakarta and Bandung also playing host to games. The top two in each of the six groups, along with the four best third-placed teams, move on to the knockout phase.

Canada prepared for the tournament with a pair of matches against Brazil in Sao Paulo, losing 3-1 and 5-0 on Sept. 29 and Oct. 1, respectively.

“We played two top matches,” said Olivieri. “They’re defending world [under-17] champions. It’s a whole different generation of players obviously. But they’re a very good group. To play that kind of opposition is exactly what we needed. You just don’t know what it’s like until you experience it.

“And that’s been kind of the theme for the boys. They need to experience those types of matches. And we’ll be ready for it. We’ll be the better for it coming into our first game against Spain. And Uzbekistan is a quality side.”

Mali won’t be any easier.

“They’re certainly a top team coming out of Africa,” Olivieri said. “We know that it’s going to be a big third match and we want to make sure that we’re in a good place going into that third match.”

Canada lost 2-1 to Argentina in a warm-up on the eve of the tournament.

The Canadians qualified by reaching the final four of the CONCACAF U-17 Championship in February in Guatemala, losing 2-0 to the eventual runner-up Americans in the semi-final. Mexico won the CONCACAF crown, with Panama also qualifying for the FIFA showcase.

Canada finished second to the U.S. in its group at the CONCACAF tournament, beating Trinidad and Tobago 3-2 and Barbados 2-0 before falling 1-0 to the Americans.

The Canadians then blanked Haiti and Puerto Rico by 3-0 scores to qualify for the FIFA championship, which this year features players born 2006 or later.

The likes of Brazil’s Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain), Alisson Becker (Liverpool) and Casemiro (Manchester United), South Korea’s Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Spain’s Pedri (FC Barcelona) and England’s Phil Foden have used the tournament as a stepping-stone to stardom.

Which helps explain why Canada’s overall record at the tournament is 0-17-4. The young Canadians lost all three games in 2019, the last time the competition was held (the 2021 edition was cancelled due to the pandemic).

Canada has scored just 10 goals – one of which was an Argentine own goal – while conceding 60 at the tournament.

Sixteen of Olivieri’s 21-player roster come from MLS academies, including 10 from Toronto FC, three from CF Montreal and two from the Vancouver Whitecaps. Midfielder Taryck Tahid and forward Kevaughn Tavernier come from the CPL’s Vancouver FC and Forge FC, respectively.

There are some familiar names.

Midfielder Alessandro Biello (CF Montreal) is the son of interim Canada senior coach Mauro Biello while forward Antoni Klukowski (Poland’s Pogon Szczecin) is the son of former Canadian international Mike Klukowski.

Biello and centre back Lazar Stefanovic, who has already seen first-team action with Toronto FC, will share the captaincy.

“It’s a big moment,” Mauro Biello said. “I’m going to speak as a proud father I’m proud of him and all the work that he’s done. Because to get there, to get to that level, you’ve got to work, you’ve got to suffer and you’ve got to be humble.”

Missing through injury are Kyler Vojvodic (Vancouver Whitecaps academy) and Antoine N’Diaye (CF Montreal academy), who combined for fives goals in the Guatemala qualifier

“The team is gutted not to have them with us,” said Olivieri. “They were a big part of qualifying. We’ll miss them.”

Canada played host to the FIFA U-17 tournament in 1987, when it was an under-16 competition.

Canada’s best showing at a men’s FIFA tournament was reaching the quarter-finals of the 2003 FIFA U-20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates with a team featuring future senior skipper Atiba Hutchinson. That side lost 2-1 after extra time to eventual runner-up Spain.