Road To Rio

Canada’s road to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games has been extended, with a CONCACAF 3rd place match the next hurdle on 13 October.

The 2015 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying knock-out match will send either Canada or host USA to an intercontinental playoff against Colombia.

Canada was pushed to the brink of qualifying following an 0:2 loss to Mexico in the CONCACAF semi-final on Saturday 10 October in Sandy, UT.

Mexico scored once in each half, while Canada missed a late penalty and hit the crossbar just a few minutes from the final whistle.

“Our spirit remains positive,” said Canada’s Olympic coach Benito Floro. “Our team has gained experience, both collectively and individually, in every match. They understand the positives and that we are close to achieving our goal.”

Mexico, the defending Olympic champions, qualified alongside Honduras, who won 2:0 over USA in the other Saturday semi-final.

Mexico is now undefeated in 40 straight CONCACAF youth matches, with their last loss in fact an 0:2 defeat to Canada’s U-20 team in March 2009 (37W-3D-0L at U-23, U-20 and U-17 tournaments).

The Canada against the USA match will be played again in Sandy, UT at Rio Tinto Stadium.