Canada loses to Costa Rica but advances at CONCACAF Futsal Championship
GUATEMALA CITY — Canada lost 5-1 to two-time defending champion Costa Rica on Wednesday but still advanced for the first time to the knockout round at the CONCACAF Futsal Championship.
Canada (1-1-0) placed second in Group C and will play Group B winner Panama (1-1-0) in Friday’s quarterfinal with a berth in the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Lithuania in September on the line.
The Canadian men have not qualified for the Futsal World Cup since the inaugural event in 1989 in the Netherlands, where they failed to make it out of the first round after beating Japan and losing to Argentina and Belgium.
The 13-team CONCACAF Championship, which runs through Sunday, will determine the four representatives from North and Central America and the Caribbean at this FIFA Futsal World Cup.