Canada Soccer announces Men's U-20 camp and series against Panama

Canada Soccer

Canada Soccer's Men's National U-20 Team have announced a 24-player squad for an upcoming preparation camp in Canada and Panama. The camp supports the team's preparations for the upcoming CONCACAF Men's Under-20 Championship in February 2017.

Canada's camp will run from 12-22 January with away international matches against Panama on 19 and 21 January. From the group of 24 players in Toronto, only 20 will travel to Panama for the two matches.

"This camp gives us another chance to expose our players to the environment that we expect to face in qualifying," said Rob Gale, Canada Soccer's Men's National U-20 Team Coach. "This is a chance to play a very good opponent ahead of qualifying, but also a chance to see our players and continue our assessment ahead of our squad selection in February."

The CONCACAF Men's Under-20 Championship runs 17 February to 6 March in San José, Costa Rica. Canada's initial group opponents are Honduras (17 February), Mexico (20 February), and Antigua & Barbuda (23 February).

For the January camp, Canada's squad predominantly features players from clubs in out-of-season leagues in North America. Players from Canadian MLS clubs in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montréal are included in the squad. A few players from youth clubs in Europe were also made available for the January camp.

Three debutants to Canada Soccer's Men's EXCEL Program are Dane Domić, Diego Gutierrez, and Andrew Lebre. Two other players - Aidan Daniels and Malik Johnson - earned their first call ups since being part of the U-17 program in 2015.

While Johnson is making his debut at the U-20 level, he will be one of four players who has benefitted from more than 100 camp days across the national youth program. Other experienced players include Kadin Chung, Dante Campbell, Josh Doughty, Ballou Tabla, and Luca Uccello.

Two players unavailable through injury are goalkeepers Philip Di Bennardo and James Pantemis.

In between the January camp in Panama and the CONCACAF Men's Under-20 Championship in Costa Rica, Canada Soccer's Men's National U-20 Team will have one more preparation camp in Mexico from 27 January to 4 February.

From the CONCACAF Men's Under-20 Championship, four nations will qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Korea Republic 2017 which runs 20 May to 11 June.

Canada Soccer’s Men’s EXCEL Program channels our nation’s exceptional players into the best soccer environments. The Canada Soccer Pathway works in collaboration with our provincial and territorial partners as well as the professional clubs and academies. For Canada’s elite players, the program emphasizes player development on the pathway to representing Canada’s Men’s National Team in international soccer.

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Canada Soccer announces Men's U-20 camp and series against Panama

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