Canada and Honduras play it safe in Jamaica

Honduras decided caution was a lot better than trying to win Group D at the CONCACAF U-17 championships. On Saturday Honduras needed to beat Canada in order to take the group; both teams knew they had already claimed spots in the quarter-finals, so the game was all about seeding. Honduras had only beaten minnows Barbados 2-1, while Canada had thrashed the Barbadians 8-0. Instead of going for it, Honduras decided instead to protect its starters, and went through the motions in a 0-0 draw with the Canadians Saturday in Jamaica. Honduras made five change to its starting lineup Saturday, choosing to protect key players from card trouble and injury rather than try to win the group. Canadian coach Sean Fleming chose the same tack; he also made five changes to the starting XI; he chose to start with TFC Academy’s Michael Petrasso, who notched a hat trick against Barbados, on the bench.

Canada will face Trinidad and Tobago, the second-place finisher in Group C in the quarters. Honduras gets the host Jamaicans in the quarters. All of the four semifinalists will qualify for this year’s U-17 World Cup, joining Mexico, who is hosting the tourney.