Canada U-17 soccer team to face Honduras on Saturday

First place in Group C will be on the line when Canada faces Honduras on Saturday 19 February in the 2011 CONCACAF Men’s Under-17 Championship. The group match will be played at Catherine Hall Stadium in Montego Bay, Jamaica with a 12.30 local kickoff (12.30 ET / 09.30 PT).

The 2011 CONCACAF Men’s Under-17 Championship runs 14-27 February. Four of 12 teams will qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, with the qualification matches set for 22-23 February in the CONCACAF quarter-final stage. Both Canada and Honduras have already qualified for the quarter-final stage, but Group C seedings and Group D opponents have yet to be decided this Saturday.

Both Canada and Honduras opened the tournament with victories over Barbados, thus eliminating the Caribbean nation. Honduras reversed an 0-1 scoreline to win 2-1 on Tuesday; Canada scored early and often to walk off with an 8:0 victory on Thursday. Canada needs a win or a draw against Honduras to finish first.

"We know it will be a quality match against Honduras," said Canadian U-17 head coach. "We expect it to be very competitive."

Canada trained on Friday morning in Montego Bay, a combination of recovery from the Canada-Barbados match and preperation for the Canada-Honduras match.

"We worked on a few things in training on which we hope to get better," said Fleming.

Canada was disciplined on Thursday not to be assessed any yellow cards, but Honduras does have four players who have one yellow card from their Tuesday match. It is unclear whether these players will be rested as a second yellow card will draw a one-match suspension.

After the group phase, Canada will play its quarter-final match on 23 February against a team from Group D. Trinidad and Tobago has already qualified for the quarter-final stage, but its group ranking will be determined on Saturday after the Guatemala-Jamaica match. From groups C and D, first place will play second place from the opposite group and second place will play first place.