Check out the full schedule, results and standings for the CONCACAF U-20 Championship.
Whatever becomes of this crop of Canadian youngsters, one thing is for certain—they are a united bunch.
Canada opened group-stage play at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship with a convincing 3-1 win over Haiti on Saturday night. Toronto FC strikerJordan Hamilton scored a brace, while Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Marco Bustos was named man of the match.
“It’s obviously a dream to represent my country at a U-20 level in World Cup qualifying,” said Bustos, who was born in Winnipeg. “I couldn’t have done it without my teammates and I give credit to every single player in our starting 11 and on the bench.”
The team was likely just as thankful for Bustos’s efforts, as he caused problems for the Haitians all evening and earned the second-half penalty kick (scored by Michael Petrasso) that gave Canada their third goal.
The team’s first two goals came from Hamilton early in the first half—the first, on a breakaway after a pass from Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé, and the second a header off a cross from Sam Adekugbe.
“I’ve got incredible teammates and they make my job easy,” said Hamilton. “Without their service, I wouldn’t have scored.”
But that sense of camaraderie and the positive feelings created by a tournament-opening victory will be put to the test on Monday. Canada will go up against Mexico, who obliterated Cuba 9-1 on Saturday.
Head coach Rob Gale spoke before the tournament about the importance of utilizing his team’s depth and preparing specifically for each opponent. And though Gale may rotate his starting lineup somewhat for the showdown with Mexico, chances are that Bustos and Hamilton will still have important roles to play.
“We’ve got to prepare for Mexico,” said Hamilton. “We’ve got to go through their tactics and our tactics and what we want to do and how we want to perform. We should be ready because (Gale) will give us good advice about the other team.”
