Canada men remain unbeaten at FIFA U17 World Cup after scoreless draw with France

Canada played France to a scoreless draw Saturday to remain unbeaten at the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

The young Canadians are authoring a new story at the tournament after recording a dismal 0-20-4 record in eight previous trips. Canada ended that winless run in its opening game Wednesday, rallying for a 2-1 victory over Uganda thanks to an 88th-minute goal by Elijah Roche and 98th-minute penalty by Marius Aiyenero.

"I'm proud of the boys," said Canada coach Mike Vitulano. "We went toe-to-toe with one of the top teams in the world and showed we belong at this level. We were ready, believed in ourselves, and played on the front foot."

Canada (1-0-1) stands second in Group K, ahead of Uganda (0-1-1) and Chile (0-1-1) and trailing France (1-0-1) on goal difference. 

Canada is in a good position to move into the knockout round for the first time. A win or draw against Chile on Tuesday will assure the Canadians a berth in the Round of 32. 

The Canadians could still advance with a loss, depending on the score, with the top two teams in each group plus with the eight best third-placed sides qualifying for the Round of 32.

"It is a solid performance to build on as our mindset shifts to preparing for an important match versus Chile," Vitulano said.

Canada's Tim Fortier was named player of the match.

France, which blanked Chile 2-0 in its opening game, won the U-17 title in 2001, was runner-up last time out in 2023 and finished third in 2019. The French, coached by Lionel Rouxel, qualified this time by virtue of finishing runner-up to Portugal at the UEFA Under-17 European Championship in June.

The expanded 48-team, 104-game FIFA competition runs through Nov. 27 across eight pitches at the Aspire Zone complex. The final will be staged