WHAT WE LEARNED: CanM20's cruise through group stages of U20 Concacaf Championships, setting up crucial QF vs. Panama
After a strong group stage performance at the U20 Concacaf Championships, the Canadian Men’s U20 National Team is now exactly where they wanted to be after three games - about to play in a crucial “win and you’re in’ quarter-final matchup against Panama.
There, what’s at stake for them is quite simple - they win, and they reach the U20 World Cup for the first time since 2007 while remaining in the hunt to try and win the Concacaf Championship for the first time since 1996. They lose, and they won’t just be eliminated from this tournament, but they’ll fail to qualify for the U20 World Cup for the eighth straight edition.
Safe to say, it’s a massive game for this team, one that could be huge for the future of the youth program, on many fronts.
And thanks to their group stage performance, they feel well-equipped to handle the challenge of playing in such a match, which certainly won’t be easy for them.
That’s key, as there’s no doubt that this is a talented group, and they’ve shown that in flashes, but sometimes a tournament like this can force teams to step out of their comfort zone.
This Canadian team has shown they can do that, no matter what they’ve faced, be it less-than-ideal pitch conditions, physical matches or the other, as they’ve found a way to rise to the occasion at each turn.
Now, they must do so once again, with their World Cup fate lying in the balance, which will be quite the test for this young group.
Before then, here’s a look at what stood out from their group stage performance and a preview of that Panama matchup.
Canada shows good resilience in group stage performance:
At first glance, one might look at Canada’s group stage showing and feel that Canada did well to cruise to a spot in the quarter-finals, which is fair to assume.
Given that they won two games and drew one, scoring five goals and conceding just three, they certainly did well to qualify for the knockouts rather comfortably, although they’ll be frustrated that they still finished second place in their group.
Despite that, however, it’s worth noting that their journey was anything but smooth, as they faced several moments of adversity.
That started in the first game, where Canada came flying out of the gates against Honduras, picking up a 2-0 lead in the first half. Yet, they were then unable to hold onto that lead, as Honduras scored two second-half goals, including a 94th-minute equalizer, to claw back a 2-2 draw.
Given that Honduras was Canada’s toughest game of the group, it was a tough pill to swallow, as it would’ve set them up nicely on their path to qualification, especially as a group winner, as it instead put pressure on them to get results in their next two games to advance.
Because of that, they nearly had a scare in the second match against the Dominican Republic, as Canada went through most of the game locked in a cagey battle. They got over the hump in the end, doing so thanks to an 86th-minute winner from Tavio Ciccarelli, but it was anything but easy.
Lastly, they entered their third match, a clash with El Salvador, knowing that they needed to win to keep their chances of winning the group alive, and at least draw to finish top two in their group, with a loss sending them through as a third-place team to set up a less than ideal quarter-final.
There, they did what they needed to do to win, grabbing a lead early through Santiago Lopéz, before finding a late winner in the 93rd minute thanks to a bicycle kick from Mataeo Bunbury after El Salvador had tied things up with a 77th-minute equalizer.
Oh my what a goal from Mataeo Bunbury for the #CanM20’s, as he scores a bicycle kick (!!!) to give them a late 2-1 winner vs 🇸🇻
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) July 27, 2024
🇨🇦 now heads to the QFs, where they can reach the U20 World Cup with a win
Strong group stage from them with 2 wins and 1 drawpic.twitter.com/AlzXCs0urs
Ultimately, that Bunbury winner didn’t end up meaning much, as Honduras beat the Dominican Republic 5-2 to book the top spot in the group, but it was a huge morale booster for this Canadian group, as seen by their spirited celebration after the goal.
So now, look for them to take what they learned from these moments of adversity in the knockout stages. Of course, they’ll hope their match against Panama is straightforward, but knockout games rarely are, so Canada will have to be ready to face adversity, no matter if they go up or down early, or if the game goes on without a goal.
As they showed with their two late winners in the group stages, coming after the late equalizer they suffered against Honduras, they’ll battle right until the final whistle, and that’s a good mentality to have ahead of such a match. 
Attack steps up in key way for Canada:
No doubt, having a strong defence is crucial to succeeding at a tournament, but it helps to be able to pour in the goals, too.
Ideally, teams find a balance between both, knowing when to step up with the key goals while balancing that with defensive solidity, but that can be hard to maintain.
Through the group stages, however, Canada seemed to strike that balance, allowing just three goals in three games, while scoring five.
Given the level of opposition, as they were drawn with three tough teams in their group, that’s solid to see, as that sets them up nicely for their match against Panama.
In particular, a key thing to see is that they’ve got multiple sources of offence who have stepped up for them, as well.
Leading the way has been Santiago Lopéz, as the Canadian-Mexican dual-national was excellent for Canada in the group stages, scoring two goals and adding two assists, chipping in with a goal contribution in each game.
Santiago López's strong tournament continues for the #CanM20, as he scores vs🇸🇻 to make it 2G/2A in 3 games - he's been involved in all of 🇨🇦's goals so far at the U20 Concacaf Championships
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) July 26, 2024
Also, that first ball from Jeevan Badwal👌. He's also been greatpic.twitter.com/eR36HWP3Di
After Lopéz, though, there have been several others who have found a way to have an impact, such as forwards Ciccarelli, Bunbury and Myles Morgan, who have all scored, while the likes of Kimani Stewart-Baynes, Andrei Dumitru and Jeevan Badwal have all helped create some key opportunities for themselves and their teammates.
Key win for the #CanM20 at the U20 Concacaf Championships, as they defeat 🇩🇴1-0 off this goal from Tavio Ciccareli
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) July 24, 2024
It was a grind of a game, but this now puts 🇨🇦 in a strong position to reach the QFs. A reminder that the top 4 reach the U20 World Cuppic.twitter.com/P5JXY3Uc4N
And that’s without looking at Jessé Costa or Oumar Diallo, who have had quiet tournaments for their standard, but can step up and chip in with offence when needed, especially in a big game.
That’s key, as heading into this key Panama clash, Canada will need some of those names to step up. At their last U20 Concacaf Championships in 2022, Canada was defensively solid, conceding four goals in four games, but they were unable to find the goals when they needed to in a must-win Round of 16 game against Guatemala, falling on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Now that they can look at all of these different names to potentially start or come off the bench is a game-changer, and they’ll look to use that to their advantage as they try to get past this Panama side. 
What to expect from Panama clash:
Speaking of Panama, however, it’s worth noting that they’re a good team and one that can pose all sorts of problems to Canada as they look to return to their first U20 World Cup since 2019, where they reached the Round of 16.
Having scored seven goals and conceded just two in three group stage games at this year’s Concacaf Championships, they were minutes away from winning their group had they beat Mexico in their finale, but gave up a late equalizer to draw that game 1-1, falling to second place on a tiebreaker.
¡Allan Saldaña abre el marcador del partido para Panamá! 🇵🇦 pic.twitter.com/Nf4MYtDArY
— Concacaf (@Concacaf) July 28, 2024
Other than that, however, they cruised through the group stages, beating Guatemala 3-0 on three first-half goals, before doing the same in a 3-1 win over Haiti, doing well to get the job done early in games. They nearly repeated that same trick against Mexico with a 16th-minute goal, but were unable to add to their lead and hold on, but that shows the big thing Canada will need to watch out for from this Panamanian group - early goals.
Given that Canada is yet to trail in this tournament, they’ve done well to come out of the gates strong, and they’ll need to keep that up, or else Panama will look to get the game out of reach early.
In particular, striker Gustavo Herrera will be one to watch, as he co-leads the tournament’s Golden Boot race with three goals, and that’s despite being rested for the match against Mexico. Along with attackers Kairo Walters and Giovany Herbert, who also started from the bench against Mexico after starting their first two games, those three will look to feature prominently in the attack.
¡Qué jugada! Gustavo Herrera marca el 1-0 para Panamá, asistido por el arquero Cecilio Burgess 🇵🇦 pic.twitter.com/hIeHpTkR8H
— Concacaf (@Concacaf) July 24, 2024
From there, expect Panama to maintain a solid defensive identity, as they’re known for at the senior level, doing well to keep the game cagey.
For Canada, that’ll give plenty to ponder, as they’ll need to strike the right offensive balance to try and break down that Panamanian defence while ensuring they’re well-equipped to handle what Panama can bring at the other end.
It’s worth noting that they’ll be shorthanded while doing so, as defender Ethan Schilte-Brown, who has been one of Canada’s standouts this tournament at centre back, has reportedly been recalled to his club Kilmarnock ahead of this game.
Despite that, they’ve got the pieces to put together a solid backline without him - expect Adam Pearlman and Immanuel Mathe to start at centre back in front of goalkeeper Grégoire Świderski, with Christian Greco-Taylor likely to start at left back, leaving James Cameron and Theo Rigopolous to battle it out for a start at right back, which is a strong group.
And they’ll be helped by Canada’s midfield, as Alessandro Biello will likely slot in as a defensive midfielder after being rested against El Salvador, returning to a pairing with all-action midfielder Jeevan Badwal, who was excellent on both sides of the ball in the group stage. Plus, if Canada feels they need more in the middle of the park, they could put Biello and Badwal in a trio with Khadim Kane, who was strong defensively against El Salvador when filling in for Biello.
Lastly, that leaves Canada’s attack, who will certainly be leaning on Lopéz, who will expect to start alongside Myles Morgan. From there, one would expect Jessé Costa to start in a bit of a free role as the team’s captain, with the last decision either being to add another attacker like Ciccarreli, Dumitru, Stewart-Baynes or Bunbury, or to turn to a third midfielder like Kane.
Based on the group stages, Stewart-Baynes is the favourite to start, but Dumitru could surprise after some good cameos, while Kane is a wildcard option.
Either way, Canada will have plenty of firepower off the bench in every scenario, which they’ll certainly be ready to turn to if needed, which they’ll be expected to do given the tough nature of this game.
They won’t mind the challenge, however, as they can reach the U20 World Cup if they overcome it, which would be massive for this group.
Because of that, look for them to make the most of this opportunity, and try and snap Canada’s lengthy drought at that tournament.
