SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — After falling 1-0 to Mexico in semifinal play Thursday at the CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship, a disappointed Canadian team can take solace in the fact it has one more chance to qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
The Canadians (5-1-0) can still book their ticket to the U-20 World Cup in August if they defeat Puerto Rico (4-2-0) in Saturday's third-place match.
Mexico was opportunistic in taking advantage of a first-half scoring chance and then played a controlled second half, soaking up late Canadian pressure in a battle of unbeaten teams.
The final whistle meant the Canadian women had less than 41 hours to put the loss out of their mind and gear up for Puerto Rico.
"'That's what we said to the girls as soon as they walked off the field," said Canada coach Cindy Tye. "You've got to leave it. You can't go back to it. Because we're still able to fulfil our objective. So we just have to rest and recover and get set for Saturday."
The CONCACAF tournament determines the three teams that will join host Costa Rica in representing North and Central America and the Caribbean at this summer's U-20 World Cup.
Mexico will meet the defending champion U.S. in Saturday's championship game in a battle of 6-0-0 teams. It's a repeat of the 2020 CONCACAF final, won 4-1 by the Americans. Canada lost 4-0 to the U.S. in the quarterfinals at that tournament.
The 2020 FIFA U-20 World Cup never took place, another victim of the global pandemic.
Captain Anette Vazquez put Mexico ahead with a stylish goal in the 27th minute Thursday after a Natalia Mauleon cross found Alexia Villanueva in the penalty box. Villanueva controlled the ball with her chest and then looped it back into the centre of the box where Vasquez, beating a Canadian defender, volleyed it home.
The goal came on the only shot on target by either team in the first half.
"They were opportunistic. That was probably their best chance, after not having very many," Tye said of the Mexicans.
Canada pressed in the dying minutes but could not crack the Mexican defence despite six minutes of added time. Substitute Holly Ward was taken down on the edge of the box in the 92nd minute but Zoe Burns' free kick flew over the crossbar. A Ward header flashed wide in the 95th minute.
The Mexicans celebrated on the pitch after the final whistle while the Canadians gathered in a huddle.
The Americans booked their ticket to the U-20 World Cup In the earlier semifinal at Estadio Olimpico Felix Sanchez, blanking Puerto Rico 7-0. The U.S. won by the same score when the two teams met earlier in group play.
Second time round was another lopsided affair with the U.S. outshooting Puerto Rico 38-1 (21-0 in shots on target).
The U.S. has now qualified for all 10 FIFA Women’s World Cups held at this age level, plus the 2020 edition which was cancelled due to the pandemic. It has won the World Cup three times.
The Canada-Mexico match featured two unbeaten teams who had scored a combined 57 goals while conceding just one.
Tye made three changes to her starting lineup, bringing in Kaila Novak, Keera Melenhorst and Serita Thurton.
After an even start, Canada came close in the 17th minute with Mexico goalkeeper Celeste Espino acrobatically palming a Jade Rose header over the crossbar off a short corner.
Mexico was denied a 2-0 lead in the 32nd minute when Aylin Avilez was ruled offside.
Olivia Smith's low shot was pushed aside by Espino in the 38th minute. At the other end, Mexican defender Samantha Lopez's header off a dangerous free kick went high in first-half stoppage time.
Mexico had 55 per cent of possession in the first half.
Canada survived a VAR check for a Rose handball in the penalty box in the 60th minute, waving off calls for a penalty after reviewing the play on a pitch-side monitor.
The Mexicans are coached by former star player Maribel Domínguez, who scored 81 goals in 116 appearances for her country. Ten of the 11 Mexican starters Thursday play in the Women's Liga MX, which started in 2017.
The 20-woman Canadian squad is drawn mostly from NCAA schools.
Rose (Harvard University) and Smith (Florida State) each have won two caps with Canada's senior squad. Goalkeeper Anna Karpenko (Harvard) and midfielder Nikayla Small (Wake Forest) have also been called up by the senior team but have yet to play.
Rose, the Canadian captain, has been a rock on defence while Smith leads the team with seven goals at the tournament.
Canada won all three group-stage matches, dispatching St. Kitts and Nevis 7-0, El Salvador 4-0 and Trinidad and Tobago 5-0 before hammering the Cayman Islands 13-0 in the round of 16. The 13 goals against the Cayman Islands set a scoring record for a Canadian women’s national youth team.
The Canadian women survived a downpour in the quarterfinal to defeat nine-woman Panama 1-0.
Canada has qualified for seven editions of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, finishing runner-up in 2002 when a Canadian team featuring a young Christine Sinclair lost to the U.S. in sudden-death extra time before 47,784 at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium.
That inaugural event was competed at the U-19 level with the event since switching to U-20. The Canadian women failed to qualify for the 2018 U-20 World Cup in France and did not get out of the group stage in 2016 in Papua New Guinea.
Canada hosted the event in 2014, losing to Germany in the quarterfinals.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2022
The Canadian Press
