Canada names 21-woman roster for FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Costa Rica

Jade Rose, Olivia Smith and Zoe Burns, who have all won caps at the senior level, will lead Canada at next month's FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica.

The Canadian women qualified in March when they beat Puerto Rico 2-0 in the third-place game at the CONCACAF U-20 Women's Championship in the Dominican Republic.

Rose and Smith have two caps apiece at the senior level while Burns has one. Goalkeeper Anna Karpenko and Nikayla Small, also on the Canadian roster, have been called up by the senior squad but had yet to make an appearance.

"We know that the experience of competing and being exposed to different styles of play is critical for our young players development,” Canada coach Cindy Tye said in a statement. “It will be a great opportunity for this age group to be tested on the international stage and we can’t wait to get started.”

Tye is a former Canadian international who doubles as coach of the Dalhousie women's team.

The Canadian women have been drawn in a group with France, Nigeria and South Korea at the 16-team FIFA U-20 World Cup, which runs Aug. 10-28 with games in San Jose and Alajuela.

Group C will not be easy. France finished fourth, second and third at the last three editions of the FIFA championship and defeated Germany in the final of the 2019 European Women's Under-19 Championship.

Nigeria, runner-up in 2010 and 2014, has advanced to the knockout rounds in seven of its nine trips to the tournament. South Korea was third in 2010 and has made the quarterfinals on two of its four other visits to the championship.

Costa Rica was originally slated to co-host the U-20 event in 2020 along with Panama. The tournament was postponed due to the pandemic with Costa Rica taking over as sole host.

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