Canada drops 5-0 decision to Mexico at CONCACAF men’s under-20 championship

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — Canada will have to wait for another chance to compete in the FIFA under-20 World Cup.

Ronaldo Cisneros Morell scored twice as Mexico downed Canada 5-0 on Monday at the CONCACAF men’s under-20 championship, eliminating the Canadian side from advancing to the next stage of qualifiers.

Francisco Cordova Reyes started the onslaught for Mexico when he opened the scoring in the 36th minute. 

“The first goal is critical in these games. Once we tried to chase the game, we got caught on the transition and that’s when you are most vulnerable,” said Canada coach Rob Gale. 

Morell scored his goals in the 40th and 65th, and Claudio Zamudio and Eduardo Aguirre added a goal apiece late in the match.

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Mexico and Honduras have two wins each and will move on from Group A while Canada and Antigua and Barbuda are both winless.

The 12-nation CONCACAF tournament is a qualifier for the upcoming 2017 FIFA U20 World Cup in South Korea. Only four CONCACAF nations will qualify.

The Canadians will play Antigua and Barbuda on Thursday for pride only.

“We need to regroup, recover, and respond in our tournament finale,” said Gale.

Canada’s 20-man roster features nine players based in Chile, England, France, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands and Scotland. Eight others are working their way through the system with Canadian MLS clubs while the remaining three are in the NCAA ranks.

Canada failed to qualify for the last four U20 world championships and has not taken part since it served as host in 2007 when it failed to win a game or score a goal.

The Canadian Press