ALAJUELA — Canada booked its ticket to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Girls’ U-15 Championship after defeating El Salvador 1-0 on Tuesday for its second win in as many days.
Ailish Hennessy scored in the 50th minute for the Canadians, who opened tournament play with a 1-0 win over Puerto Rico.
Canada wraps up Group B play Thursday against Mexico, which has also qualified for the semifinals.
The top two teams from Group A — which features the U.S., host Costa Rica, Haiti and Jamaica — and Group B advance to Friday's semifinals.
The fifth edition of the tournament, which runs through Sunday, features a record 34 CONCACAF teams. The competition is split between three host countries with Costa Rica staging League A and Trinidad and Tobago and Aruba hosting League B and C, respectively.
Tuesday's win improved Canada's record at the U-15 tournament to 18-4-2.
Canada lost 4-1 to the U.S. in the League A final at the last CONCACAF U-15 Championship in 2022 in Tampa, Fla. The Americans also won in 2016 and 2018.
Canada won the tournament in 2014, beating Haiti on penalties in the final, and also finished runner-up in 2016. It failed to reach the semifinals in 2018.
Canadians who have played in the U-15 tournament include Olympic champions Julia Grosso (2014), Jordyn Huitema (2014 and 2016) and Jayde Riviere (2016).
The current Canadian team is coached by Tina Cook.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 6, 2024.
The Canadian Press
