AGR: Looking at why the CanW20's triumph comes at perfect time for growth of Canadian women's soccer
Canada’s U20 Women’s National Team erased 18 years of heartbreak on Sunday, as they defeated Mexico 3-2 in a dramatic match to win the Concacaf Championships for the first time since 2008.
What a way to take the lead 🔥 Chukwu scores a screamer and it is 3-2 for Canada! 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/99CqADxhZ5
— Concacaf W (@ConcacafW) June 8, 2025
Having participated in seven Concacaf Championships since that triumph, they’d only made the finals twice across that span, coming in 2012 and 2015. Because of that, it was great to see them just reach the final of this 2025 tournament, which was a notable achievement on its own.
After back-to-back third-place finishes in 2022 and 2023, falling to Mexico in the semi-finals in both years, it was fitting to see them face Mexico in the final, too, especially after they lost to them in group stage play earlier in the tournament, as this final represented a full circle moment for this team.
Armed with a strong team filled with players who had experience together at the U20 and U17 level, led by some professionals and even a few who had senior caps under their belts, this team was hungry to make up for some of the struggles Canada has had in the past at the youth levels in the women’s game.
Certainly, they played like it in the final, as they picked up where they left off in the rest of the tournament. Fresh off a dramatic 1-0 win vs. the US in the semi-finals, they did well to build off that in the final, as they survived a back-and-forth match that saw them squander two leads and miss a late penalty before Annabelle Chukwu scored a beautiful goal in the 122nd minute of extra time to secure the win.
The ultimate reward! ⭐️
— Concacaf W (@ConcacafW) June 8, 2025
Canada raises the Concacaf U-20 Women’s Championship trophy! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/JW97ATXWxp
They were helped by Mexico going down a player late during regular time, as Chukwu drew a red card from goalkeeper Mariángela Medina in second-half stoppage time, but Canada still had a lot of work to do after that to capitalize on the situation.
“I’m so incredibly proud of this group; they showed tremendous character and unity throughout the tournament,” Canada’s head coach, Cindy Tye, told Canada Soccer. “They embraced every challenge, stayed focused on our goals, and earned this championship through grit, talent, and belief in one another.”
That hard work eventually paid off with Chukwu’s late winner, and now, they can celebrate a tournament win, one that comes at a perfect time for them.
Why, one might ask?
To begin, there’s the fact that this current U20 team still has lots to play for - they’ll now turn their focus towards the 2026 U20 World Cup, as they booked their spot in that tournament for a third edition in a row. With that tournament occurring until September of 2026, they now have over a year to prepare, which could allow them to play more matches to build chemistry and perhaps further bolster their squad.
“We know what we’re capable of, now it’s just about building and building until we get to Poland in 2026,” Chukwu said after the triumph.
"It's a dream come true." - Canada's Annabelle Chukwu 🎙️ pic.twitter.com/2bqcpODXoW
— Concacaf W (@ConcacafW) June 8, 2025
Speaking of bolstering their squad, however, there’s also the fact that Canada could soon be set to bring stronger teams to that tournament and several other youth tournaments to come over the next few years.
Lost in the shuffle of their important triumph was that this U20 squad featured three players who have featured in the Northern Super League’s inaugural season in Kaylee Hunter (AFC Toronto), April Lantaigne (AFC Toronto) and Sienna Gibson (Vancouver Rise), as the launch of the NSL has allowed several young Canadian players to earn professional opportunities that have long been missing for them in past years.
In the past, the lack of a professional environment for Canadians to develop in left its biggest impact at the youth levels, hence Canada’s lack of success relative to the US and Mexico, who have used the continued growth of the NWSL and Liga MX to help the development of their youngsters, with more American and Mexican youth players getting the chance to play professionally at early ages.
Now, however, Canada has its own league, and that will be crucial to ensure that they broaden their overall player pool, especially at the younger levels. That’ll have an impact on the next few years, as Canada will be able to bring teams loaded with professional experience, instead of relying on one or two names to do that, as they’ve done in the past.
Yet, that’s why this triumph is so key. In reality, this one has happened because this is an impressive generation of players that have come together at the perfect time, which can always occur at the youth level. 
Without the NSL, one might look at this team as a ‘golden generation’, with that carrying the unwritten meaning that it doesn’t feel like something that can be replicated. Now, however, Canada will feel they’ve got the infrastructure in place to do that, making success like this more of a regular habit.
They do that, and it could have a massive impact on their overall program, as it would allow them to widen the player pool, something that they’ve struggled to do over the years, as new CanWNT head coach Casey Stoney has quickly learned in her first few months on the job.
By constantly making deep runs and winning tournaments like this, it can allow youngsters to experience high-pressure situations, where they can show if they might be ready to make that jump to the senior level. In the right scenario, countries usually have alignment from the senior team down to the youth levels, helping facilitate that transition.
An instant classic. One of the best CanW20 performances of all time.
— wsoccer.ca (@WsoccerCa) June 8, 2025
So happy for Cindy Tye, all the players and staff. A special group. https://t.co/Yp5VR8A7yI
You don’t need a strong youth program to have success at the senior level - Canada’s position as a top #10 team in the FIFA Rankings shows that - but it sure helps, as some of the other top countries will say, with Spain being a great example of what that alignment looks like, for example.
Because of that, Canada will hope that the arrival of the NSL and Stoney’s hiring can prove to be a catalyst towards them improving their youth results, given that Stoney has already shown a keen interest in bringing a hands-on approach in that area, having participated in a few of Canada’s youth camps already since her hiring.
Before the fruits of that hard work are seen over the next few years, however, this U20 team still has big goals to achieve. As it stands, Canada’s best-ever showing at a U20 World Cup came when they finished second in 2002 - they’ve otherwise not made it past the quarter-finals since.
After narrowly falling 2-1 in the Round of 16 of the 2024 World Cup vs. Spain despite going up 1-0, Canada will look at 2026 and dream of a much deeper run, especially after their success in Concacaf this month.
Good battle from the #CanW20, who push Spain to the brink in the RO16, but fall 2-1 late
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) September 11, 2024
Despite that, a much-improved U20 World Cup from 2022, and several individual standouts will get #CanWNT/#CanXNT looks
Excited for the next U20WC for 🇨🇦now that the NSL's on the horizon
Given that they might only get stronger in the next year, as more youngsters continue to come through the NSL, it’s a new feeling for Canada, who can dream of success at this level after years of struggle - a sign of the winds of change currently in their ranks.
Plus, don’t forget that while the NSL will provide new opportunities to several Canadians, several will also continue to chart their own path in other leagues, but instead of needing to do that, as was the case before, they can now choose what is the best path for them to develop - that’s the beauty of this new landscape for these players.
Ideally, in most top environments, players have a breadth of choices, and that’s shown in this U20 squad, with the fact that someone like Chukwu (who is Canada’s all-time top scorer at the youth level) has gone the NCAA route, and that Jeneva Hernandez-Gray is playing pro in Portugal - it’s a good reminder that talent can come from different routes, even if the NSL offers a much needed stream for Canadians to develop in.
Safe to say, the future is looking bright for these Canadian youngsters, and the present isn’t looking so bad either after this triumph, which is a nice change after nearly two decades of struggle at this level - and hopefully this is just the start of what’s still to come.
