Canada's women ride 1st-half goals to clinch FIFA U-20 World Cup berth

Zoe Burns and Florianne Jourde scored first-half goals as Canada dispatched Puerto Rico 2-0 in the third-place game at the CONCACAF U-20 Women's Championship on Saturday to book its ticket to this summer's FIFA U-20 World Cup.

The Canadian women lost their first crack at qualifying for the World Cup when they were beaten 1-0 by Mexico in Thursday's semifinal. But they made no mistake in the third-place game in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, securing the last spot available.

The Canadians dominated on offence and turned up the pressure as the first half wore on. But the Puerto Rico defence held fast until goalkeeper JLo Ann Varada Vazquez and Canadian forward Olivia Small collided going after a ball just inside the penalty box.

A check by Varada prompted Mexican referee Katia Garcia to point to the penalty spot and Burns slotted home the spot kick in the 38th minute.

Less than minute later, Jourde volleyed home a Brooklyn Courtnall cross to give the Canadians all the offence they'd need to secure their World Cup berth.

Canada had outscored its opposition 30-0 in winning five straight at the tournament prior to running into the Mexicans.

The championship game, which followed the Canada contest at Estadio Olimpico Felix Sanchez, pitted Mexico against the defending champion U.S. in a battle of 6-0-0 teams. The final was a repeat of the 2020 CONCACAF final, won 4-1 by the Americans. Canada lost 4-0 to the U.S. in the quarter-finals at that tournament.

The 2020 FIFA U-20 World Cup never took place, another victim of the global pandemic.

The top three teams at the CONCACAF championship join host Costa Rica in representing North and Central America and the Caribbean at the U-20 World Cup in August.

Canada coach Cindy Tye, a