MIAMI — Canada has been drawn in a group with three-time defending champion U.S., Costa Rica and Bermuda at the 2018 CONCACAF Women's Under-17 Championship.
The regional championship, which runs April 19-29 in Nicaragua, will qualify three teams to the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Uruguay in November.
Canada opens April 20 against Bermuda before facing Costa Rica on April 22 and the U.S. on April 24.
After round-robin play, the top two finishers in each of the two groups will cross over for the semifinals with the winners of those games plus the winner of the third-place match advancing to the world championship.
Group A features Nicaragua, Mexico, Haiti and Puerto Rico. All games will be played at Managua's Estadio Nacional.
Host Uruguay, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and North Korea have already qualified for the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.
Canada has qualified for all five of the previous FIFA U-17 championships, making the quarterfinals in 2008, '12 and '14. It finished third at the last CONCACAF tournament in 2016.
The Canadian under-20 women's team finished fourth at its recent CONCACAF championship, failing to make the world championship.
The Canadian Press
