MIAMI — Canada has drawn in a pool with Mexico, El Salvador and Aruba at the 2020 CONCACAF Under-20 Men's Championship.
The draw took place Wednesday at CONCACAF headquarters in Miami.
Seventeen teams will take part in the qualifying round, playing in one group of five teams and three groups of four teams. After round-robin play, the top team in each group advances to the knockout stage.
Canada and 11 other countries open play in the second round of the competition, split into four groups. The top three in each of the four second-round groups join the first-round pool winners in the round-of-16 knockout stage.
The winner of Canada's group will face one of Curacao, Guadeloupe, Belize or Saint Martin in the round of 16.
The four semifinalists will book their ticket to the 2021 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Indonesia.
The Canadian men have not taken part in the FIFA U-20 championship since hosting the event in 2007 when it lost all three matches and failed to score a goal.
Canada's best showing was in 2003 in the United Arab Emirates when a team featuring Atiba Hutchinson, Iain Hume, Nik Ledgerwood, David Edgar and Josh Simpson made it to the quarterfinals, only to lose to eventual runner-up Spain 2-1 on a golden goal.
Canada made it to the round of 16 in Malaysia in 1997.
CONCACAF said the host countries for each of its tournament rounds and further scheduling details will be announced at a later date.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 20, 2019.
The Canadian Press
