Photo by Canada Soccer (CSA)
Canada Soccer has announced the 14-player squad that will represent the men's U-15 national team at the inaugural FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival Azerbaijan 2026, which runs Oct. 24 to 30 in Baku.
The squad includes a Calgary connection, with Cavalry FC midfielder Rowen Egharevba among the 14 players selected.
Canada has been drawn into Group P alongside Guinea, Guatemala, Singapore, American Samoa and Honduras. Canada opens against Guinea on Saturday, Oct. 24, faces Guatemala and Singapore on Sunday, Oct. 25 and closes the qualification stage against American Samoa and Honduras on Monday, Oct. 26, with all of those matches at the Hovsan Competition Complex.
The tournament is the first World Cup FIFA has staged at the U-15 level. Open to all FIFA member associations, it brings 188 national teams to Baku for nearly 1,000 matches across six matchdays, making it the largest tournament in FIFA's history.
The format is built around player development. Matches are played eight-a-side over two 20-minute halves on a 68-by-47-metre pitch with full-size goals, with unlimited substitutions, kick-ins replacing throw-ins and offside applied only beyond lines marked 14 metres from goal. There are no knockout rounds — results from the five-match qualification stage place each team into one of six performance tiers for the tournament stage, every team plays through to the final matchday, and the Tier A winner will be crowned the inaugural champion at Baku Crystal Hall on Oct. 30.
"This is a special opportunity for this group to be part of the first FIFA U-15 World Cup," said Andrew Olivieri, Canada Soccer's men's youth Excel director. "It will be their first major international tournament, and experiencing it so early in their careers will be a great foundation for them."
All of Canada's matches will stream live on FIFA+.
Goalkeepers: Xavier McIlkenny-McDonald (Toronto FC), Jaskaran Singh (Vancouver Whitecaps FC).
Defenders: Shawn Couto (CF Montréal), Quincy Green (LA Galaxy), Elliott Kim (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Dionte Marhong (River Plate), Mohamed Toure (CF Montréal).
Midfielders: Rowen Egharevba (Cavalry FC), David Egizii (Pescara Calcio), Aryan Parmar (AZ Alkmaar), Michael Pittarelli (CF Montréal), Hayden Renardson (Aston Villa).
Forwards: Yele Dazirignon (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Yannick Seri Baye (FC Metz).