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

Canada   v   El Salvador

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)

Haiti   v   Canada

March 222020 CONCACAF Olympic qualifying	Haiti	0–0	Canada	Zapopan, Mexico
16:00		Report		Stadium: Estadio Akron Referee: Juan Gabriel Calderón (Costa Rica)

Honduras   v   Canada

March 252020 CONCACAF Olympic qualifying	Honduras	1–1	Canada	Guadalajara, Mexico
19:30	Maldonado 30'	Report	Cornelius 28'	Stadium: Estadio Jalisco Attendance: César Ramos (Mexico)

Mexico   v   Canada

March 282020 CONCACAF Olympic qualifying	Mexico	2–0	Canada	Guadalajara, Mexico
21:00	Antuna 58' Vásquez 65'	Report		Stadium: Estadio Jalisco Referee: Juan Gabriel Calderón

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	1 GK	James Pantemis ‡	(1997-02-21) February 21, 1997 (age 28)	7	0	Portland Timbers
18	1 GK	Matthew Nogueira	(1998-03-18) March 18, 1998 (age 26)	0	0	Unattached
19	1 GK	Sebastian Breza	(1998-03-15) March 15, 1998 (age 26)	0	0	CF Montréal
2	2 DF	Zachary Brault-Guillard	(1998-12-30) December 30, 1998 (age 26)	4	0	FC Lugano
3	2 DF	Zorhan Bassong	(1999-05-07) May 7, 1999 (age 25)	3	0	Sporting Kansas City
4	2 DF	Diyaeddine Abzi	(1998-11-23) November 23, 1998 (age 26)	1	0	Unattached
5	2 DF	Derek Cornelius	(1997-11-25) November 25, 1997 (age 27)	7	1	Marseille
13	2 DF	Marcus Godinho	(1997-06-28) June 28, 1997 (age 27)	4	0	Korona Kielce
16	2 DF	Callum Montgomery	(1997-05-14) May 14, 1997 (age 27)	2	0	Cavalry FC
6	3 MF	Michael Baldisimo NE	(2000-04-13) April 13, 2000 (age 24)	5	0	The Town FC
8	3 MF	David Norman Jr.	(1998-05-31) May 31, 1998 (age 26)	9	0	Vancouver FC
10	3 MF	Aidan Daniels	(1998-09-06) September 6, 1998 (age 26)	8	0	Pacific FC
14	3 MF	Ryan Raposo	(1999-03-05) March 5, 1999 (age 25)	4	0	Vancouver Whitecaps FC
17	3 MF	Patrick Metcalfe	(1998-11-11) November 11, 1998 (age 26)	4	0	Fredrikstad
20	3 MF	Lucas Dias	(2003-01-18) January 18, 2003 (age 22)	4	0	1º Dezembro
7	4 FW	Tajon Buchanan	(1999-02-08) February 8, 1999 (age 26)	4	2	Villareal
9	4 FW	Charles-Andreas Brym	(1998-08-08) August 8, 1998 (age 26)	4	0	Almere City
11	4 FW	Ballou Tabla	(1999-03-31) March 31, 1999 (age 25)	4	0	Atlético Ottawa
12	4 FW	Mohamed Farsi NE	(1999-12-16) December 16, 1999 (age 25)	2	0	Columbus Crew
15	4 FW	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	HFX Wanderers FC	2020 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying
FW	Kris Twardek	(1997-03-08) March 8, 1997 (age 27)	4	0	Valour FC	2020 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying

Previous squads

CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship 1996 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship squad 2000 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship squad 2004 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship squad 2008 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship squad 2012 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship squad 2015 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship squad 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship squad

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

See also

• Sports portal
• Canada portal

• Canada men's national soccer team
• Canada men's national under-20 soccer team
• Canada men's national under-17 soccer team
• Canada men's national under-15 soccer team
• Canada men's national futsal team
• Soccer in Canada

References

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.