Canada men's national under-23 soccer team

Canada U-23
Nickname(s)	The Canucks; Les Rouges (The Reds);
Association	Canadian Soccer Association
Confederation	CONCACAF (North America)
Head coach	Mauro Biello
Top scorer	Rob Friend (12)
FIFA code	CAN
First colours	Second colours
First international
	Unofficial; San Marino 0–1 Canada ; (Serravalle, San Marino; 28 March 1986); Official; Canada 3–0 Trinidad and Tobago ; (Burnaby, Canada; May 5, 1991)
Biggest win
	Canada 14–0 U.S. Virgin Islands ; (Saint John, Canada; September 10, 2003)
Biggest defeat
	Australia 5–0 Canada ; (Sydney, Australia; June 2, 1996)
Pan American Games
Appearances	2 (first in 1999)
Best result	Fourth 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

Tony Fonseca (2009–2012)
Benito Floro (2013–2015)
John Herdman (2018)
Mauro Biello (2022)

Results & fixtures

2021

March 19 2020 CONCACAF Olympic qualifying	Canada	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	Canada	Zapopan, Mexico
16:00		Report		Stadium: Estadio Akron Referee: Juan Gabriel Calderón (Costa Rica)

March 25 2020 CONCACAF Olympic qualifying	Honduras	1–1	Canada	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	Canada	Guadalajara, Mexico
21:00	Antuna 58' Vásquez 65'	Report		Stadium: Estadio Jalisco Referee: Juan Gabriel Calderón

2025

March 18 Friendly	South Korea	v	Canada	Ulsan, South Korea
				Stadium: Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium

March 23 Friendly	Indonesia	v	Canada	Bali, Indonesia
				Stadium: Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium

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 (age 27)	7	0	Portland Timbers
18	1GK	Matthew Nogueira	(1998-03-18) March 18, 1998 (age 26)	0	0	Unattached
19	1GK	Sebastian Breza	(1998-03-15) March 15, 1998 (age 26)	0	0	CF Montréal

2	2DF	Zachary Brault-Guillard	(1998-12-30) December 30, 1998 (age 25)	4	0	FC Lugano
3	2DF	Zorhan Bassong	(1999-05-07) May 7, 1999 (age 25)	3	0	Sporting Kansas City
4	2DF	Diyaeddine Abzi	(1998-11-23) November 23, 1998 (age 26)	1	0	Leganés
5	2DF	Derek Cornelius	(1997-11-25) November 25, 1997 (age 27)	7	1	Marseille
13	2DF	Marcus Godinho	(1997-06-28) June 28, 1997 (age 27)	4	0	Korona Kielce
16	2DF	Callum Montgomery	(1997-05-14) May 14, 1997 (age 27)	2	0	Cavalry FC

6	3MF	Michael Baldisimo^NE	(2000-04-13) April 13, 2000 (age 24)	5	0	The Town FC
8	3MF	David Norman Jr.	(1998-05-31) May 31, 1998 (age 26)	9	0	Vancouver FC
10	3MF	Aidan Daniels	(1998-09-06) September 6, 1998 (age 26)	8	0	HFX Wanderers FC
14	3MF	Ryan Raposo	(1999-03-05) March 5, 1999 (age 25)	4	0	Vancouver Whitecaps FC
17	3MF	Patrick Metcalfe	(1998-11-11) November 11, 1998 (age 26)	4	0	Fredrikstad
20	3MF	Lucas Dias	(2003-01-18) January 18, 2003 (age 21)	4	0	1º Dezembro

7	4FW	Tajon Buchanan	(1999-02-08) February 8, 1999 (age 25)	4	2	Inter Milan
9	4FW	Charles-Andreas Brym	(1998-08-08) August 8, 1998 (age 26)	4	0	Sparta Rotterdam
11	4FW	Ballou Tabla	(1999-03-31) March 31, 1999 (age 25)	4	0	Atlético Ottawa
12	4FW	Mohamed Farsi^NE	(1999-12-16) December 16, 1999 (age 25)	2	0	Columbus Crew
15	4FW	Theo Bair	(1999-08-27) August 27, 1999 (age 25)	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 (age 27)	0	0	Pacific FC	2020 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying

FW	Kris Twardek	(1997-03-08) March 8, 1997 (age 27)	4	0	Atletico Ottawa	2020 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying

Previous squads

CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship

Pan American Games

2015 Pan American Games squad

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

CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament
- Runners-up: 1996

References

^ 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.
^ "Canada M23 picks players for CONCACAF Olympic Qualifiers". September 18, 2015. Archived from the original on September 21, 2015. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
^ "Canada Soccer announces squad for Concacaf Men's Olympic Qualifying". Canada Soccer. March 10, 2021. Retrieved March 10, 2021.

[National_Post_article-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.

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