GUATEMALA CITY — Canada advanced to the round of 16 at the CONCACAF men's’ Under-17 Championship with a 2-0 win over Barbados on Monday.
Liam MacKenzie scored in the 21st minute and Alessandro Biello converted from the penalty spot seven minutes later at Estadio Pensativo.
The Canadians wrap up pool play on Wednesday against the United States in a match to decide top spot in Group F. The Americans, who beat Canada 4-0 in the semifinal of the 2019 CONCACAF tournament, improved to 2-0-0 with a 3-1 win over Trinidad and Tobago later Monday.
Canada opened play Saturday with 3-2 win over Trinidad while the U. S. blanked Barbados 5-0.
"We can be very pleased with the first two matches,” said Canadian coach Andrew Olivieri. "As important as the results were, the boys were able to put together two solid winning performances with some clear growth from our pre-tournament friendly through these first two group matches.
"We have to give them some real credit for the attitude they've showed since our first camp in October. There's a clear desire to get better every day and they know there's work to do if we're going to achieve our goal here in Guatemala."
Biello's father is Mauro Biello who doubles as an assistant coach with the Canadian senior men's team and director of Canada Soccer's under-18 to under-23 program. Mauro Biello won four caps for Canada as a player.
Alessandro Biello, a midfielder who is part of the CF Montreal academy, is also the nephew of former Canadian international Nick De Santis.
MacKenzie is with the Vancouver Whitecaps academy.
The three top teams in each of the four opening-round groups advance to the knockout phase. They will join Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic in the round of 16. Those four teams advanced directly from CONCACAF men's U-17 qualifying play.
The 20-team tournament, which runs through Feb. 26, will send four teams to the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Peru in November. The world championship was originally slated for 2021 but was postponed because of the pandemic.
Canada has been to seven of the past 18 men's U-17 World Cups, hosting the event in 1987. It has never advanced past the group stage including last time out in Brazil in 2019 when it went 0-3-0.
Mexico won the CONCACAF U-17 Championship in 2019, defeating the U.S. 2-1 after extra time in the final at Bradenton, Fla. It was the Mexicans' eighth title at this age level.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2023.
The Canadian Press
