With all eyes trained on the U20 and senior Women's World Cups being hosted in Canada over the next 16 months, one could be forgiven for forgetting that Canada will also be contesting the U17 Women's World Cup later this month.
The fourth edition of the competition runs from March 15 to April 4 in Costa Rica, with Canada competing in a difficult group alongside Germany, North Korea and Ghana. North Korea knocked Canada out of the 2012 tournament in the quarter-finals, a competition in which the Canadians had excruciating difficulty finding the back of the net (they, incomprehensibly, managed to put just one past lowly Azerbaijan).
But past results mean little in the youth ranks, where turnover is constant. There are no returning players from the 2012 squad, though two names on this year's roster -- released by head coach Bev Priestman on Tuesday, full roster below -- will likely already ring some bells for followers of the senior national team.
Midfielder Jessie Fleming -- who, at 15 years old, earned her first senior national-team cap at a tournament in Brazil in December -- will captain the U-17 side, while fullback Sura Yekka, who has already earned seven senior caps, will join the U17 side after missing the qualifying tournament last October/November.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
Unsurprisingly, Priestman will be relying on these two for leadership.
"Jessie, named the captain again, she does a great job," Priestman said during a conference call Tuesday. "She's the fittest player on the team. ... Between the two of them, for sure, they've got great experience and leadership within the team."
Canada's qualifying tournament was a bit of a mixed bag. They steamrolled over Guatemala, Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica by a combined score of 24-0, but were held scoreless by both the USA and Mexico. Asked whether those blowouts against minnows had warped her team's expectations about what they'll be up against in the World Cup, Priestman said they hadn't.
"They know that they're playing Germany, they're playing (North) Korea; they'll be realistic going into this tournament," she said. "There is a reality there already for the players, and I'm not sure that the expectation is that they can go in and score 11 goals (in a game, as they did against T&T)."
It's always difficult to predict how any squad will fare at the youth ranks, though Priestman noted that even at the U17 level, "powerhouses" have a way of developing. North Korea won the tournament in 2008, finished fourth in 2010 and were runners-up in 2012. Germany has been in the third-place game twice, with their worst showing in 2010 when they were knocked out in the quarters by -- guess who? -- the North Koreans.
Times have changed since that tournament just two years ago, however; most significantly, Canada won a historic Olympic medal in women's soccer, providing role models to a new generation of young players. One of those Olympians, Candace Chapman, was actually on Priestman's coaching staff during the qualifying tournament -- "I liked having Chappy in there," said Priestman -- though she won't be available for the upcoming World Cup.
But when it comes down to it, Priestman isn't overly focused on necessarily making the podium (Canada hasn't made it past the quarter-finals at the U17 Women's World Cup). She, like senior national team head coach John Herdman, is constantly focusing on the overall process of player development.
"Ultimately we want to get the girls as many games as possible," she said (in addition to three group-stage games, Canada will play a pre-tournament warm-up match against Japan). "U17 is not the be-all and end-all of everything, it's a step along the way."
Indeed, it proved a massive stepping stone for Kadeisha Buchanan, who was at the U17 Women's World Cup just two years ago, and now finds herself a regular fixture with the senior team. Could Fleming, Yekka or any of their teammates follow a similar trajectory? Well, there are a few potential breakout players to keep an eye on.
Marie-Mychèle Métivier led Canada's scoring surge in the qualifying tournament, with six goals, looking comfortable and composed in front of goal. Right behind her was Emily Borgmann with five, while Nadya Gill played the role of super-sub to the tune of four goals in five games.
Fleming was the team's engine in midfield, and of course Yekka will be one to watch as well. But another player who could find herself on Herdman's radar is Rachel Jones, a mobile fullback who showed the sort of forward-moving instincts that Herdman has favoured for the senior team during his tenure.
In all, Canada will bring 21 players to the tournament, four of whom are young enough to be eligible for the next U17 Women's World Cup, in 2016. All part of the process, in Priestman's words.
Canada opens against Germany on March 15, before facing North Korea on March 18 and Ghana on March 22. A first- or second-place finish in the group is needed to ensure a quarter-final berth. No official word yet on whether the games will be televised, though CBC has traditionally provided live streams of games at the U17 men's and women's World Cups.
Canada's U17 Women's World Cup roster
GK- Rylee Foster | CAN / Woodbridge SC
GK- Devon Kerr | CAN / Glen Shields FC
GK- Lysianne Proulx | CAN / Roussillon
D- Sura Yekka | CAN / Brams United
D- Easther Mayi Kith | CAN / Laser de Joliette
D- Mika Richards | CAN / Brams United SC
D- Rachel Jones | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite
D- Bianca St-Georges | CAN / Laser de Joliette
D- Simmrin Dhaliwal | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite
M- Jessie Fleming | CAN / London NorWest SC
M- Sarah Kinzner | CAN / Calgary Foothills
M- Avery Lakeman | CAN / Edmonton Drillers
M- Karima Lemire | CAN / Varennes
M- Sarah Stratigakis | CAN / Woodbridge SC
M- Nahida Baalbaki | CAN / Lakeshore Soccer Club
F- Emily Borgmann | CAN / Burlington SC
F- Gabrielle Carle | CAN / Chaudière-Est
F- Nadya Gill | CAN / Vaughan SC
F- Anyssa Ibrahim | CAN / Terrebonne
F- Marie Levasseur | CAN / Haute St-Charles
F- Marie-Mychèle Métivier | CAN / Armada Chaudière-Est