Canada Qualifies For 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup
Written by Oluwaseun Oyediji
Canada secured its place in the 2026 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup following a 4-1 victory over Nicaragua, alongside Mexico’s 4-0 win against Panama on Saturday during the CONCACAF Women’s U20 Championship held in Alajuela, Costa Rica.
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The eight-team CONCACAF tournament, which is set to continue until June 8 at Alejandro Morera Soto Stadium, will send four teams from the region to the 24-team FIFA U20 World Cup, scheduled for September 2026 in Poland.
In Group A of the CONCACAF tournament, host Costa Rica is joined by the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Guyana. The top two teams from each group will progress to the semifinals, thereby securing their spots in the World Cup.
With six points from two wins (2-0-0), Canada and Mexico are out of reach for Panama and Nicaragua, who remain without points at 0-2-0, with one match left to play. The young Canadians will face defending champions Mexico on Monday to determine the winner of Group B.
Canada has participated in nine of the last 11 editions of the FIFA U20 tournament, missing the events in 2010 and 2018. Last year, the Canadians were eliminated in the round of 16 at the FIFA U20 World Cup in Colombia, losing 2-1 to Spain.
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In their match against Nicaragua, Canada had to overcome a first-half red card and a penalty.
Despite being a player down for over 80 minutes, Canada outperformed Nicaragua with a shot count of 30-7 (4-4 in shots on target), maintained 67.7 percent possession, and achieved a 14-0 advantage in corner kicks.
Teegan Melenhorst, Anabelle Chukwu, and Liana Tarasco were the scorers for Canada (2-0-0), which also benefited from an own goal by Nicaragua.
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Chukwu, who netted twice in Canada’s opening 7-1 victory over Panama in Group B, has extended her record for Canadian youth international goals, previously held by Christine Sinclair. She now boasts 37 goals in 39 matches across the under-15 to under-20 levels.
The U.S. and Mexico, being the top-ranked teams in CONCACAF, bypassed the qualifying round and received direct entry into the CONCACAF championship. Canada, along with 23 other teams, had to earn their spots, with Costa Rica, Guyana, Nicaragua, Panama, and Puerto Rico also winning their respective groups.
Canada clinched the CONCACAF tournament titles in 2004 and 2008.
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