Ten players from the three Canadian MLS teams' academies have been named to Canada's roster for CONCACAF under-17 men's qualifying play next month.
A single-round format sees the 35 participating teams in North and Central America and the Caribbean split into eight groups. Canada will play in Group A alongside host Bermuda, Curacao, Anguilla, and Turks and Caicos Island, with matches slated for Feb. 7-16.
The group winners qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, which runs Nov. 5-27 in Qatar. The newly expanded tournament will feature 48 teams and take place on an annual basis between 2025 and 2029.
Toronto FC academy members on the 21-man roster are Dominic Kantorowicz, Elijah Roche, Richard Chukwu, Timothy Fortier and Antone Bossenberry with Stefan Kapor one of two alternates.
The CF Montreal academy players are Sergei Kozlovskiy, Aghilas Sadek and Owen Graham-Roache. Whitecaps academy players are Sahil Deo and Johnny Selemani with Manav Badwal the other alternate.
York United FC's Shola Jimoh represents the Canadian Premier League on the roster.
Canada has qualified for eight of the 19 editions of the FIFA U-17 World Cup but has yet to win a game there.
Canada lost to Spain (2-0), Uzbekistan (3-0) and Mali (5-1) last time out, In Indonesia in 2023. That dropped its all-time record at the tournament to 0-20-4.
Canada also went 0-3-0 in 2019 in Brazil (the 2021 edition was cancelled due to the pandemic).
Canada has scored just 11 goals — one of which was an Argentine own goal — while conceding 70 at the tournament.
The young Canadians held a camp in Costa Rica in November, beating Costa Rica 3-0 and Mexico 2-1 in friendlies.
"While we are proud of the two strong performances and results in our November camp, they don’t guarantee qualification," Canada coach Mike Vitulano said in a statement. "We understand the challenges ahead and know that success will come through hard work, preparation and commitment as we face the tough matches to come."
Canada opens Feb. 9 against Turks and Caicos before facing Anguilla on Feb. 11, Curacao on Feb. 13 and Bermuda on Feb. 16.
Canada U-17 Roster
Dominic Kantorowicz, Toronto FC academy; Sahil Deo, Vancouver Whitecaps academy; Moise Clovis Archange, Orlando City U17; Dylan Judelson, Dylan, Orlando City U17; Elijah Roche, Toronto FC academy; Sergei Kozlovskiy, CF Montreal academy; Shola Jimoh, York United FC; Kevin Khan, Feyenoord U17 (the Netherlands); Aidan Evans, Fulham U18 (England); Isaac Tortola, Columbus Crew academy; Andre Ali-Gayapersad, CF Damm Youth (Spain); Milo Beimers, Glentoran FC (Northern Ireland); Richard Chukwu, Richard, Toronto FC academy; Timothy Fortier, Toronto FC academy; Antone Bosenberry, Toronto FC academy; Aghilas Sadek, CF Montreal academy; Johnny Selemani, Vancouver Whitecaps academy; Owen Graham-Roache, CF Montreal academy; Marius Aiyenero, Los Angeles FC 2; William Daniels, Leicester City U-18 (England); Jonathan Ransom, Atlanta United 2.
Alternates
Manav Badwal, Manav, Vancouver Whitecaps academy; Stefan Kapor, Toronto FC academy.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2025.
The Canadian Press
