Canada men's national under-23 soccer team

Canada Under-23
Nickname(s)	The Canucks, Les Rouges (The Reds)
Association	Canadian Soccer Association
Confederation	CONCACAF (North America)
Head coach	Mauro Biello
Top scorer	Rob Friend (12)
FIFA code	CAN
First colours	Second colours
First international
	Canada 3–0 Trinidad and Tobago ; (Burnaby, Canada; May 5, 1991)
Biggest win
	Canada 14–0 U.S. Virgin Islands ; (Saint John, Canada; September 10, 2003)
Biggest defeat
	Australia 5–0 Canada ; (Sydney, Australia; June 2, 1996)

The Canada men's national under-23 soccer team or the Canada Olympic soccer team represents Canada in international soccer at this age level and is controlled by the Canadian Soccer Association, the governing body for soccer in Canada.^[1]

Unlike UEFA member associations that use U-21 regional competitions as Olympic qualifying, as a member of CONCACAF, Canada's U-23 team competes in regional qualifying in the same year as the summer Olympics and its call-ups are traditionally only limited to players under 23 years of age.

History

2008 qualifying

Known for his vocal antics on the touchline, Nick Dasovic led Canada through Olympic qualifying in 2008, drawing Mexico 1–1 and helping to eliminate the heavily favoured Mexican side in the process. After a highly promising 5–0 win over Guatemala on a night when Mexico had to better that result against Haiti but could only win 5–1, Canada fell to the United States 3–0 in the semifinal, losing out on a spot in Beijing at the Olympics that summer. Canada recovered to defeat Guatemala in the third-place playoff, a rematch of their first round game, winning on penalties (5–3) after a scoreless draw through 120 minutes.

2012 qualifying

Tony Fonseca led Canada to an opening game 0–0 draw against El Salvador. Following this, Canada stunned the United States 2–0, contributing to their surprising early elimination on home soil. Canada disappointed in their final group stage game with a 1–1 tie versus Cuba, setting up a more difficult semi-final for them against Mexico, which they would lose 3–1.

2016 qualifying

It was announced in August 2015 that Canada head coach Benito Floro would be in charge of the Olympic team. The final squad for qualification was announced on September 18, 2015.^[2]

Competitive record

Summer Olympics

Summer Olympics record									Summer Olympics Qualification record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1992	Did not qualify								10	4	2	4	18	16
1996									7	2	3	2	9	10
2000									5	2	2	1	3	2
2004									3	0	0	3	1	5
2008									5	1	2	2	7	6
2012									4	1	2	1	4	4
2016									5	1	1	3	6	10
2020	To be determined								0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	–	0/7	–	–	–	–	–	–	39	11	12	16	48	53

Pan American Games

Pan American Games record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1995	Did not participate
1999	Fourth place	4th of 10	6	2	2	2	6	6
2003	Did not participate
2007
2011
2015	Group stage	7th of 8	3	0	1	2	1	6
Total	Fourth place	2/6	9	2	3	4	7	12

References

↑ National Post (March 28, 2012). "Canada will face Mexico for Olympic soccer berth". Retrieved March 29, 2012.
↑ "Canada M23 picks players for CONCACAF Olympic Qualifiers". September 18, 2015.