MANAGUA — Olivia Chisholm and Kaylee Hunter scored three minutes apart in the second half Sunday to send Canada to the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup with a 3-2 win over Puerto Rico in CONCACAF qualifying play.
The young Canadians topped Group B, joining Mexico (Group A winner) and the U.S. (Group C winner) plus Costa Rica, the best second-place finisher in the three qualifying pools, in booking their ticket to the FIFA U-17 World Cup that runs Oct. 17 to Nov. 8 in Morocco.
Canada qualified for seven of the eight previous editions of the FIFA U-17 Women’s Cup, missing out on the 2024 tournament. CONCACAF only sent two teams to the 2024 FIFA championship, with CONCACAF's Dominican Republic hosting the tournament, and Canada finished third in qualifying after losing 2-1 to Mexico after extra time in the semifinal.
"As far as a performance, it was resilience and heart personified," said interim Canada coach Gary Moody. "It means the world to these players — especially those who experienced the heartache last time around, when they deserved to qualify.
"I'm so very proud of this group and the amazing staff I had on this camp. A collective achievement, for sure."
Canada and Puerto Rico had posted earlier wins over Panama and Nicaragua but Puerto Rico held the edge in goal difference, meaning it only had to tie Sunday to move on while Canada needed to win.
Giselle Falcon scored 45th- and 57th-minute goals for Puerto Rico, sandwiched around a Joëlle Bader goal for Canada in first-half stoppage time. Chisholm and Hunter scored in the 71st and 74th minutes to rescue Canada at the Estadio Nacional.
Canada opened Group B play with a 5-0 win over Nicaragua before downing Panama 2-0.
Canada’s 10 goals at the tournament came from seven different players, with Chisholm, Hunter and Melisa Kekic scoring two apiece.
Canada, Haiti, Mexico and the U.S., had received byes to the final round of 2025 CONCACAF qualifying. The other eight entries came through a 22-team qualifying round Jan. 27-Feb. 1 that sent six group winners (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Puerto Rico) and the two best second-place finishers (Bermuda and Trinidad and Tobago) to the final round.
The expanded FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco will feature 24 teams, up from 16. Canada's best showing was fourth in 2018. It made the quarterfinals in 2008, 2012 and 2014.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 6, 2025.
The Canadian Press
