Canada's U-17 national team had a rough draw to kick off the 2019 U-17 World Cup, coming against powerhouse Brazil, who were also hosting the tournament.
In the end, the Canadians were no match for their hosts, as Brazil won 4-1 in the tournament opener in Brasilia on Saturday.
The game was one-way traffic controlled by Brazil most of the way, but the underdogs had one of their best plays right from the start. Canada had a save by goalkeeper Marc Kouadio and a last-gasp clearance by Canadian defender Kobe Franklin, a Toronto FC academy prospect, in the sixth minute to keep it scoreless.
Brazil found the breakthrough in the 17th minute, Joao Peglow converting on a cutback after a tricky run through several Canadian defenders by Gabriel Veron.
Canada's day got worse in first-half stoppage time, as Franklin turned the ball into his own net as Peglow was on the verge of a tap-in, giving Brazil a 2-0 edge.
Brazil scored again less than a minute into the second half, as Peglow smashed in a strike off Franklin's unfortunate failed clearance in Canada's box. Veron then added a goal to make it 4-0 in the 56th minute.
Canada nearly got on the board in the 70th minute, TFC product Deandre Kerr's strike after a dummy in the buildup forcing a save from Brazil goalkeeper Matheus Donelli. But they got a consolation goal in the 86th minute, TFC prospect Jacen Russell-Rowe's shot deflected on its way into the net and giving Canada a bit of a mental boost coming out of a big loss.
Looking to progress from the group stage for the first time at the U-17 World Cup, Les Rouges can take some solace from the hardest game in Group A play being out of the way, with two more opportunities to get a positive result and cut into the negative goal difference.
Their next match comes on Tuesday, when they face Angola, in their first-ever U-17 World Cup, on Tuesday (4 pm ET | TSN, TSN GO in Canada; FOX Soccer Plus, FOX Sports GO in US). Canada will conclude group play against New Zealand on Friday.
Canada lineup vs. Brazil: GK - Marc Kouadio; Kobe Franklin, Rohan Goulbourne, Damiano Pecile, Gianfranco Facchineri, Nathan Demian, Ralph Priso, Matthew Catavolo (Jacen Russell-Rowe, 69'), Jayden Nelson (Sean Rea, 71'), Deandre Kerr, Mamadou Kane (Kamron Habibullah, 53')
