Should the USA advance to the knock-out stage of the 2012 CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championship, they will face at least of one of the four teams from Group A, which are Canada, Guatemala, Jamaica, and Panama. If the USA wins their group, then they will face the second-place team from the above four, which will probably be the hosts Guatemala. Although Panama, who have a number of players who competed in the recent CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship, which it hosted, and Jamaica, which has recently bolstered its roster with six foreign based players (five from Canada and one from the US), could also claim the second spot.
[For a preview of Group B, which includes the USA and Mexico, see this post.]
Canada will more than likely finish first in the group, which means that if the USA finishes second in Group B, then the two sides would meet in a semifinal. A more probable scenario, however, is a championship final match-up.
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GROUP B MATCH SCHEDULE
All times are for the Eastern U.S.A.
Wednesday, May 2
Canada vs. Panama, 4 p.m.
Guatemala vs. Jamaica, 6:30 p.m.
Friday, May 4
Jamaica vs. Canada, 4 p.m.
Guatemala vs. Panama, 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 6
Panama vs. Jamaica, 4 p.m.
Guatemala vs. Canada, 6:30 p.m.
All matches will be streamed live at CONCACAF TV’s website.
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CANADA
National Population: 34,300,000
GDP Per Capita: $40,300
Senior WNT World Ranking: 7th
Senior WNT Ranking in CONCACAF: 2nd
Past U-17 CONCACAF Championships: 2008 (3rd Place), 2010 (1st Place)
Past U-17 Women’s World Cups: 2008 (Quarterfinals) , 2010 (Group Stage)
Federation Website: www.canadasoccer.com
U-17 WNT Coach: Bryan Rosenfeld (he was also Canada’s coach in 2010)
How They Got Here: Automatic Qualifier.
Recent Matches: In March, Canada played two matches against Trinidad and Tobago’s U-17 WNT, who have qualified for this Championship and are in the USA’s group. Canada defeated T&T 3:0 both times. The goal scorers for those matches were: Goal scorers: Amandine Pierre-Louis, Valerie Sanderson (2) and Nichelle Prince (3).
In February, Canada had a 60 minute scrimmage versus Germany’s U-17 WNT, which ended in a scoreless draw.
In December 2011, Canada played Mexico’s U-17 WNT twice, who are also in the USA’s group. Canada defeated Mexico 2:0 and 1:0. Goal scorers: own goal, Summer Clarke, Jasmin Dhanda.
For links to the available match reports for these matches, see this post from early April.
In August 2011, Canada played Japan’s U-17 WNT, drawing one match and losing the other match. The matches were held in California, at a camp that was concurrent with the U-17 USWNT camp, where the USA also played Japan. The USA drew 2:2 and lost 1:2 in their matches.
Notable Players: Two US-based players are on the roster, goalkeeper Taylor Bucklin, who is a 2013 verbal commit for Michigan, and defender Lindsay Agnew, who has verbally committed to Ohio State.
Roster:
Goalkeepers:
Taylor Bucklin (CFC United, USA; Michigan, 2013)
Kailen Sheridan (Pickering SC)
Defenders:
Madeline Iozzi (Pickering SC)
Lindsay Agnew (Ohio Premier Eagles, USA; Ohio State, 2013)
Kadeisha Buchanan (Erin Mills Mighty Eagles U-16)
Nicole Loncar (Brams United SC)
Victoria Pickett (Glen Shields)
Rebecca Pongetti (Oakville SC)
Carley Radomski (Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite)
Larisa Staub (CAN / Angels SWU)
Midfielders:
Jasmin Dhanda (Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite)
Ashley Lawrence (Erin Mills Mighty Eagles U-16)
Rebecca Quinn (Erin Mills Mighty Eagles U-16)
Sabrina Santarossa (CS Vallée Richelieu)
Forwards:
Summer Clarke (Richmond Red Hot Selects U-16)
Elissa Neff (Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite)
Kajal Parmar (Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite)
Amandine Pierre-Louis (Saint-Leonard)
Nichelle Prince (Pickering SC)
F- Valérie Sanderson (FC Boisbriand U-16)
Source: CanadaSoccer.com news item.
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GUATEMALA
National Population: 14,100,000
GDP Per Capita: $5,000
Senior WNT World Ranking: 81st
Senior WNT Ranking in CONCACAF: 7th
Past U-17 CONCACAF Championships: none
Past U-17 Women’s World Cups: none
Federation Website: www.fedefutguate.org
U-17 WNT Coach: Benjamín Monterroso (also coached their U-20 WNT this year)
How They Got Here: Qualified automatically as host.
Notable Players: Luz Gramajo is the lone US-based player on the roster.
For Guatemala’s full roster, see this post (names and club information only).
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PANAMA
National Population:
GDP Per Capita: $
Senior WNT World Ranking: Unranked (inactive)
Senior WNT Ranking in CONCACAF: Unranked (inactive)
Past U-17 CONCACAF Championships: 2010 (Group Stage)
Past U-17 Women’s World Cups: none
Federation Website: www.marearoja.com
U-17 WNT Coach: Luis Tejada
How They Got Here: One spot was available from Central America. Four teams played a knock-out tournament that consisted of two rounds, with each round being a two-legged home-and-away contest. In the first round, Panama defeated Nicaragua 8:1 on agreggate. In the second and final round, versus Costa Rica, Panama won 3:1 on aggreggate.
Panama 6, Nicarauga 0.
Panama 2, Nicarauga 1.
Panama 2, Costa Rica 1.
Panama 1, Costa Rica 0.
Box scores for these matches are available on CONCACAF’s website.
Notable Players: Seven players are veterans of Panama’s U-20 WNT, which competed in the CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship earlier this year, in Panama, including forwards Marta Cox, who scored a goal in that tournament and had two more goals in U-20 Central American qualifying. In U-17 Central American qualifying, Cox had three goals while Karla Riley (another U-20 veteran) had four goals.
For Panama’s full roster, see this post (names and club information only).
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JAMAICA
National Population: 2,889,000
GDP Per Capita: $9,000
Senior WNT World Ranking: Unranked (inactive)
Senior WNT Ranking in CONCACAF: Unranked (inactive)
Past U-17 CONCACAF Championships: 2008 (Group Stage), 2010 (Group Stage)
Past U-17 Women’s World Cups: none
Federation Website: www.jamaicafootballfederation.com
U-17 WNT Coach: Vin Blaine
How They Got Here: In Caribbean qualifying, three spots were available. Jamaica finished second in the final round-robin group of four teams, which it hosted. The first round consisted of a three-team single round-robin group, which Jamaica won.
Jamaica 9, Aruba 0.
Jamaica 3, Dominican Republic 0.
Jamaica 2, Bahamas 0.
Jamaica 5, Guyana 0.
Jamaica 0, Trinidad & Tobago 1.
Box scores for these matches are available on CONCACAF’s website.
Notable Players: One US-based player is on the roster – Kayla Gray of Bradenton, Florida. Five other players are based in Canada.
For Jamaica’s full roster, see this post (names plus country information only).
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Notes:
1. Population and GDP data is from the CIA Factbook.
2. Senior WNT team rankings are from FIFA.com.
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