Canada exits the FIFA U-17 World Cup after painful penalty shootout loss to Ireland

DOHA — Canada exited the FIFA U-17 World Cup in painful fashion Friday, losing a marathon 10-round penalty shootout to tournament debutant Ireland in round-of-32 play.

Irish ‘keeper Alex Noonan made a diving one-handed save to deny Canadian defender Elijah Roche for a 9-8 win in the shootout.

Canada had scored late to pull even at 1-1 and force penalties.

Noonan saved Canadas first penalty attempt from Kevin Khan while Canadian ‘keeper Jonathan Ransom stopped Oisin McDonagh with Ireland leading 4-3, denying an Irish victory — at least temporarily.

Dylan Judelson then converted his shot to keep the shootout going. Four more Canadians scored before Noonan ended it.

Marius Aiyenero, Sergei Kozlovskiy, Van Parker, Aghilas Sadek, Johnny Selemani, Sahil Deo and Josh Nteziryayo also scored for Canada in the shootout.

Michael Noonan, Finn Sherlock, Jaden Umeh, Vinnie Leonard, Kian McMahon-Brown, Rory Finneran, Victor Ozhianvuna, Grady McDonnell and Ryan Butler scored for Ireland from the penalty spot.

Canada exits after a breakthrough showing at the tournament. It had gone winless in its eight previous appearances, recording a dismal 0-20-4 record.

The Irish move on to face Switzerland, which won the tournament in 2009 in its only other appearance, in the round of 16. The unbeaten Swiss, who topped Group F at 2-0-1, dispatched Egypt 3-1 earlier Friday.

Kozlovskiy had pulled Canada even in the 85th minute with an elegant right-footed volley from outside the penalty box after Ireland failed to deal with a ball sent in from a throw-in. Kozlovskiy, who had come on in the 76th minute, was making his first appearance at the tournament.

The 17-year-old defender joined the CPL’s Atletico Ottawa in March on an Exceptional Young Talent contract from CF Montréal’s youth academy, where he had featured for the club’s U-15, U-17, and U-18 sides after joining in 2022.

Aiyenero had a chance to win it for Canada in stoppage time but was denied by the Irish ‘keeper.

Ireland broke the deadlock in the 65th minute after the Canadian defence was carved open by a long ball from Leonard. Nteziryayo just beat Michael Noonan to the ball but his attempted back pass to Ransom was short.

With Nteziryayo desperately trying to claw Noonan back, the Irish forward calmly beat Ransom for the go-ahead goal.

Noonan was shortlisted for the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) Ireland Young Player of the Year after helping Shamrock Rovers win the league.

In February, he became the youngest goal scorer in the history of the UEFA Conference League when, at the age of 16 years 197 days, he scored for Shamrock Rovers in a 1-0 win over Norway’s Molde.

There was drama in stoppage time as South African referee Jelly Chavani went to the pitchside monitor to check for a possible penalty against Canada. But he waved the Irish appeal off.

Canada outshot Ireland 5-4 in the first half with both sides putting two shots on target.

Despite a 2-1 loss to Chile in the Group K finale Tuesday, Canada moved into the knockout round. All four teams finished at 1-1-1 with four points, leaving Canada second behind the French with Uganda third.

France defeated Colombia 2-0 earlier Friday while Uganda meets Senegal on Saturday.

Ireland (2-0-1) topped Group J, defeating Panama (4-1) and Uzbekistan (2-1) and drawing Paraguay (0-0).

Belgium lost 2-1 to Portugal while Mexico edged Argentina in a penalty shootout after a 2-2 draw earlier Friday in round-of 32 play.

The tournament runs through Nov. 27 across eight pitches at the Aspire Zone complex. The final will be staged at Khalifa International Stadium, which is also on the Aspire Zone site.

Canada coach Mike Vitulano made one change to his starting lineup with Aidan Evans slotting in for Johnny Selemani.

McDonell, a former member of the Vancouver Whitecaps academy and Vancouver FC player, started in the Irish midfield.

Vancouver FC sold then-16-year-old McDonnell to Belgium’s Club Brugge in January for what was then the second-largest transfer fee in CPL history. He had signed with the CPL team in January 2024 as a 15-year-old.

McDonnell was born in Surrey B.C., but is eligible to represent Ireland because his father has Irish bloodlines. He also played four games for Canada at the CONCACAF Under-15 Championship in the Dominican Republic in August 2023.

The Canadians booked their ticket to the World Cup in February, topping their five-team qualifying group — featuring host Bermuda, Anguilla, Curaçao and Turks and Caicos — with a perfect 4-0-0 record. They outscored their opposition 28-2, with both goals conceded coming from the penalty spot.

Ireland almost didn’t make it out of the first round of European qualifying, finishing level on points and goal difference with Lithuania but advancing on fair play ranking. The Irish then qualified by finishing runner-up to Belgium in their second-round group.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2025.