U20 team makes Canadian soccer happy

[Bxl Boy]

(CP) - Champagne corks may not have been popping at the Canadian Soccer Association offices in Ottawa on Monday but there were surely a lot of smiles in the wake of Canada's qualification for this summer's World Youth Championship in the Netherlands.

For one, Canada hasn't had much to celebrate on the soccer field recently. Two, the young Canadians were unfazed by hostile surroundings in Honduras. Three, the world under-20 championship is second only in size to the men's World Cup in terms of FIFA competitions. And four, Canada is hosting the event in 2007.

"This was a very, very, very important competition for us," Kevan Pipe, the CSA's chief operating officer, said of the CONCACAF qualifying event that wrapped up Sunday. "And boy did these guys ever come through with flying colours."

By making the 2005 edition of the 24-country tournament, Canadian soccer gets to maintain its profile in what looks to be a down year other than the Gold Cup. And that will no doubt help 11 cities, who have indicated an interest to join Toronto and Edmonton as 2007 championship hosts, keep their eye on the ball.

Official bids are due in April with the CSA's decision slated for May. The World Youth Championships open June 10.

Canadian soccer officials can also take some pride in the fact that soccer powerhouses like No. 2 France, No. 4 Czech Republic, No. 7 Mexico (whose under-20 side was beaten 2-1 by Canada in Honduras), No. 8 England and No. 9 Portugal failed to qualify their under-20 teams.

UEFA, Europe's governing body with 52 member associations, is sending six teams to join the host Dutch. CONCACAF, with 36 associations in North and Central America and the Caribbean, sends four.

Put it another way, four of CONCACAF's World Cup sides are ranked in FIFA's top 50, compared to 24 for UEFA.

Pipe says Dale Mitchell's under-20 team is a "top priority for the association." While that may be true, the CSA budget remains limited.

Less than $100,000 has been spent on the squad so far this year and there is $200,000-plus more in the kitty. Still, the CSA can dip into its development budget, which is stocked to the tune of $300,000 to $400,000.

The good news is FIFA pays all travel and accommodations costs for the tournament itself.

"We're going to do everything that's humanly and physically possible to get this team to reach its highest level of potential development," Pipe added.

As far as players are concerned, Mitchell says he will remain loyal to the players who got the team to the Netherlands and give them the first look prior to the tournament.

But a couple of other players bear watching.

Defenders David Edgar (Newcastle) and Matt Brittner (Brown University) were both injured. And striker Andrea Lombardo did not make the trip to the Honduras because he was needed by his Italian club Atalanta.

A wild card is midfielder Jonathan de Guzman, the younger brother of Canadian international Julian de Guzman. Jonathan, who has yet to declare his international allegiance, is captain of the reserves at Dutch side Feyenoord.

Mitchell, who coached the 2003 team to a best-ever quarter-final finish, knows he will have limited time with his players ahead of schedule.

"You can only get them so much anyway, but given it's in the summer where school will be winding down or the clubs will be winding down . . we should have a pretty good run-in to the world championships."

Unlike the 2003 side, which boasted two stars in striker Iain Hume and defender-midfielder Atiba Hutchinson, this under-20 side is driven by good chemistry and teamwork.

"We felt like we knew what it was going to take to be competitive down here," Mitchell said before leaving Honduras. "I think we picked the right guys for this particular qualification.

"You hope they'll be able to step it up once you get to the world level, because it definitely is a step above what you see here in CONCACAF."

The ticket to the Netherlands means Canada has qualified for four of the last five under-20 world championships. Canada finished eighth in 2003, 24th in 2001 and 14th in 1997.

"Everybody knows we probably won't be in the final," Mitchell said. "It's a very big achievement if you can get out of your (first-round) group. . . . The games there are extremely difficult.

"There's no easy matches and you've really have to get a lot of things right just to be competitive at that level."

The record shows that. Canada is 4-13-4 overall at the World Youth Championship, where it has been outscored 40-12. Only the 1997 and 2003 teams survived the first round.