KEY takeaways: What we learned from CanW20's 2024 World Cup participation
Despite a heartbreaking ending, there was lots to like about the Canadian U20 Women’s National Team’s journey at the 2024 U20 World Cup.
Their second straight qualification to that tournament after missing out on the 2018 edition, Canada had their best showing in a decade, reaching the knockout stages for the first time since the 2014 tournament.
After failing to win a game at the last two tournaments in 2022 and 2016, scoring just three goals across their last six World Cup matches heading into this year, they found the offensive spark they’d been missing and that nearly led them on a run.
Unfortunately, their journey ended in the Round of 16, as they fell to defending champions Spain 2-1 in a tight game, but despite that, they’ll have lots to be proud of from this tournament.
And that offers plenty of hope for future editions, where they’ll look to build off this performance.
With big things on the horizon for the women’s game in this country, it’s less doom-and-gloom than the last time Canada was at this tournament, where it felt like some tough questions were asked about the future of the country's youth development.
Now, with some of those questions finally starting to get answered, they’re trending in the right direction, and their showing at this tournament is a prime example of that.
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
With that in mind, here’s a look at what stood out from this tournament for this Canadian U20 team.
Despite elimination, Canada does well in big matches:
In 2022, Canada ended up having a tournament to forget, as they lost all three of their group-stage games, falling by a combined score of 8-2.
First, they fell 2-0 to South Korea, lost 3-1 to France and then were defeated 3-1 by Nigeria, as they failed to win in their World Cup return after the 2020 edition was postponed due to the pandemic and they missed out on qualification to the 2018 edition outright.
This time, however, they were able to find the two things that eluded them in 2022, as they scored lots of goals and were able to pick up their first World Cup win since 2014, which helped them reach the knockout stages.
To be fair, they were aided by the expansion of the tournament from 16 to 24 teams, which opened up more teams to reach the knockout stages, especially given that some of the best third-place teams were able to qualify.
Canada ended up being one of those teams, as they finished third in their group with France, Fiji and Brazil, with a 3-3 draw against France and a 9-0 win over Fiji proving to be enough to get them through despite a 2-0 loss to Brazil.
At the same time, Canada can look back at this tournament and feel quite pleased with how they went toe-to-toe with France, Brazil and then Spain in those marquee matchups, in particular.
First, against France, they did well to start that match on the front foot and grab two different leads, before showing good resilience to come back from down 3-2 at the end to rescue a point. Given that there was an argument to be made that one of France’s goals could’ve been called back for a foul, and that Canada had a late penalty claim waved away, they’ll like how they responded to those moments of adversity.
Then, against Brazil, they did well to apply pressure to Brazil, pushing them right until the end of the match, which only finished 2-0 as Brazil scored their second in the 99th minute as Canada pushed for an equalizer after going down in the 35th minute.
Lastly, against Spain, Canada didn’t back down in a challenge against the defending champions, weathering an early storm to take the lead, and while that lead was a short-lived one, they nearly grabbed it back a few times before Spain picked up an 81st-minute winner.
FLORIANNE JOURDE RIPS IT HOME FOR CANADA 🇨🇦
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) September 11, 2024
They lead 1-0 in the 63rd minute vs. Spain.#U20WWC pic.twitter.com/1by0gfFuCg
Certainly, there were some key learning lessons that Canada will want to clean up from those matches - in particular, they’ll look at the seven goals they conceded and feel that most of them were preventable, which will frustrate especially given the timing of some of the goals they conceded.
At the same time, they’ll also be pleased that despite those defensive breakdowns, they were able to stay in games and push right until the end thanks to their attack, as they struggled to do that in 2022.
For a side that has gone without a win at this tournament in so long, and had looked far off the level required to win it all, it’s a good reflection of the talent they had at their disposal during this cycle.
And that’s exciting, as they’ll now look to push those players up to the senior level, which is the big goal from these youth tournaments. Despite Canada’s struggles in 2022, four of the players from that team have played for the senior team since in Jade Rose, Olivia Smith, Simi Awujo and Zoe Burns (to be fair, three of them had already debuted for Canada before in Burns Rose and Smith), with Rose, Smith and Awujo becoming regulars.
Then, when looking back at the 2016 team that also didn’t win, they still pushed 11 players up to the senior level, with Deanne Rose and Gabrielle Carle the main names who have gone on to become regulars, winning gold medals with Canada at the Olympics in 2021.
Therefore, when looking at this 2024 group, it definitely feels like a few of these players can make that jump up to that next level, given that a few have already gotten looks in Olivia Smith, Amanda Allen, Jeneva Hernandez-Gray and Annabelle Chukwu, a list they’ll hope grows in the years to come. 
An exciting attack offers intrigue for future:
Speaking of some of those names, however, it’s worth noting that they also should fill a key long-term need for Canada’s senior team - in the attack.
When looking at Canada’s Olympic squad from this summer, they brought six attackers in their main squad and a seventh as an alternate, with the listed ages of those seven attackers sitting at 23, 25, 27, 29, 29, 31 and 31 at the start of the Olympics.
What that means is that for the next major tournament Canada will play, which will be the 2027 World Cup, those attackers would be 26, 28, 30, 32, 32, 34 and 34, which indicates they might need to freshen up that group before then.
Certainly, they’ll be room for some veterans to stick around, especially if they remain productive for club and country, but it could open the door for some new faces to slot in.
And the good news is that this U20 team showed that they can do some damage offensively, with several names offering intrigue for the future.
Given that Canada was able to score 13 times in four games after scoring 15 times in their previous 13 appearances at U20 World Cups, that’s evident. Plus, while they did pad their stats with a nine-goal performance against Fiji, who conceded a whopping 29 goals in three group stage games, that Canada managed to get three against France and one against Spain is still an improvement from past tournaments.
Leading the way was the duo of Olivia Smith and Amanda Allen, who as expected, were key sources of offence, with Smith playing a free role cutting inside from the left wing while Allen took up a spot on the right. Given that both were Canada’s lone players with professional experience, and that both have been in the senior team picture, that wasn’t surprising to see, as the pair will already feel they’ve shown they can be part of that picture long-term, with Smith already looking likely to be a key piece for the present.
In terms of new faces, however, the big one that stood out was Annabelle Chukwu, who scored four times and was dangerous every time she was on the pitch. A lethal goalscorer, she scored her goals in different ways, too, proving that she could create chances for herself and her teammates while also showing good poacher instincts in the box.
Able to play anywhere across the front line, she feels like someone Canada will look at very soon after becoming their all-time leading scorer at the youth women’s level this tournament, especially given that she’s also a dual national eligible for England.
We have a new All-Time Women’s Youth Goals Leader!!!
— CANWNT (@CANWNT) September 4, 2024
Annabelle Chukwu’s big night sees her leapfrog the 🐐 with Olivia Smith closing in behind!#CANW20 #U20WWC pic.twitter.com/jSOsxJhm8D
Otherwise, Nyah Rose showed some good glimpses up front, scoring a great goal in Canada’s opener, while Florianne Jourde scored a nice goal against Spain and showed good flexibility to play as both a forward and a little deeper on the pitch, making them ones to watch long-term.
So overall, that gives Canada plenty of names to have a deeper look at going forward, which will be intriguing. Of course, the next step for those players will be to continue to progress their careers, with most of them sitting in the NCAA system, as one can only wonder how much longer a few of them will be there with the arrival of the Northern Super League next year, with clubs there likely to place calls for the likes of Chukwu, Rose and Jourde, in particular.
Even in Allen’s case as an already established professional, she could still earn an NSL look after recently being loaned to USL Super League side Lexington SC from the NWSL’s Orlando Pride, and there are several others on this team who could earn similar opportunities. 
Excitement for the next cycle:
Speaking of the NSL, its arrival should be huge for Canada’s youth teams, as it’ll offer a pool of players with professional experience to pull from in future years.
Instead of having to rely on going to the NCAA or making a big jump to Europe when they turn 18, more players will be able to play professionally in their own backyards, which will be huge for their development.
As seen globally, the countries that are doing the best at the youth and senior levels are pushing players professionally through their own domestic systems, getting them minutes against top players as early as possible.
While the NCAA was once a top destination for players internationally, it no longer has that same reputation globally, and even top American youngsters are starting to forego playing in college to go pro in the NWSL. There is still use for players to go that route, especially late bloomers, but in terms of development, playing professionally appears to be the best route for those who are ready to earn that opportunity.
ICYMI: @AnnabelleChukwu with the hat trick last night. Unreal. #GoIrish ☘️
— Notre Dame Women's Soccer (@NDSoccer) September 4, 2024
pic.twitter.com/my2A7qDh11
Until the creation of the NSL, however, Canadians didn’t have the opportunity to do so at home, so it’ll be fascinating to see what will now happen with some of the best youngsters, who won’t need to leave the country to play professionally or to choose the NCAA as their main option.
And certainly, Canada’s youth teams will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of that change. As seen in this tournament, just having two players with professional experience was massive, so one can only imagine what Canada can do at a U20 World Cup when they’re able to pick from a dozen-plus players with professional experience.
Therefore, it feels like Canada is set up nicely to build on this tournament, instead of having it be a flash in the pan experience. After a decade of stagnation at the youth level, that’s key, as Canada will now hope to return among the world’s elite in the younger age groups much like they are at the senior level.
Having a key pipeline of players is the best way to do that, and that’s why the creation of the NSL is so important.
