Canada’s FIFA U-17 World Cup Roster Revealed

Canada Soccer has announced its final roster selection who will represent Les Rouges at the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Indonesia next month.

The selection of next generation talent will face tough competition in a group featuring Spain, Mali, and Uzbekistan, with the group having tuned up with back-to-back tilts against Brazil. Vancouver FC’s TJ Tahid and Forge’s Kevaughn Tavernier, who had featured in both of those matches, have now cracked the final 21-man roster.

The bulk of the youth national team roster is filled with MLS Academy prospects, with an astounding ten from Toronto FC, three from CF Montrela, two from the Vancouver Whitecaps, and one from Inter Miami. Inbound from Europe are Antoni Klukowski from Pogon Szczecin and Lino Aklil from HSC Montpellier, while former League1 Ontario youth standout Erik Pop – who signed with 2. Bundesliga side Karlsruher FC this January – has also been included in the selection.

Here’s the list for Canada’s FIFA U-17 World Cup Roster:

​1- GK- Nathaniel Abraham | CAN / Toronto FC Academy
​2- FB- Theo Rigopoulos | CAN / Toronto FC Academy
​3- FB- Gaël de Montigny | CAN / Académie CF Montréal
​4- M- Alessandro Biello | CAN / Académie CF Montréal
​5- CB- Chimere Omeze | CAN / Toronto FC Academy
​6- CB- Lazar Stefanovic | CAN / Toronto FC Academy II
​7- F- Taryck Tahid | CAN / Vancouver FC
​8- M- Jeevan Badwal | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Academy
​9- F- Antoni Klukowski | POL / Pogoń Szczecin
​10- M- Philip Igbinobaro | CAN / Toronto FC Academy
​11- F- Kevaughn Tavernier | CAN / Forge FC Hamilton
​12- FB- Aidan Fong | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Academy
​13- M- Richard Chukwu | CAN / Toronto FC Academy
​14- M- Tyler Londono | CAN / Toronto FC Academy
​15- CB- Victor Fung | USA / Inter Miami CF Academy
​16- GK- Dominic Kantorowicz | CAN / Toronto FC Academy
​17- CB- Étienne Godin | CAN / Académie CF Montréal
​18- GK- Alexander O’Brien | CAN / Toronto FC Academy
​20- FB- Lino Aklil | FRA / HSC Montpellier
​21- F- Lucas Ozimec | CAN / Toronto FC Academy

In case of injuries, there are two alternates available to be called up: Whitecaps Academy midfielder Liam MacKenzie, and CF Montreal Academy prospect Sergei Kozlovskiy.

Related: Five Canada U-15 Prospects To Watch

The young squad will be led by Andrew Olivieri, who hopes to see his squad ‘rise up on their journey towards the highest tiers of the global game’.

“Putting together a collectively disciplined and brave run of performances in Indonesia will be what the squad needs to take this program to a knockout stage for the first time at a FIFA U-17 World Cup,” he continued. “In achieving that, those performances can also help springboard some of these young men’s careers.”

How many take those leaps remain to be seen: after the last FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2019, three of the squad have claimed senior team call-ups: Jayden Nelson, Ralph Priso, and Jacen Russell-Rowe.

The CPL’s TJ Tahid and Kevaughn Tavernier both took their first professional minutes this year, with the former making fifteen appearances for Vancouver FC and the latter making two for eventual champions Forge FC. There’ll be plenty of eyes among them – and the rest of the squad – as they open against Spain on November 10 at Surakarta’s Manahan Stadium.

Fans hoping to tune into the event can do so through TSN and RDS in Canada.

Header Image Photo Credit: Renan Camargo