Canada finishes atop Group A at U-17 championship

Canada has won Group A of the CONCACAF Women’s U-17 championship in emphatic fashion. Canada got three goals from Valerie Sanderson and two from Summer Clarke as it beat the host Guatemalans 6-1 Sunday in their final group-stage match of the championships. For Clarke, it was her fifth and sixth goals of the tournament. Canada finished the group stage with a 3-0-0 record and a +15 goal difference. Guatemala’s goal, a free-kick effort from Vivian Herera, was the only marker surrendered by the Canadians in three group-stage games. Jasmin Dhanda scored the opening goal, 23 minutes in, on a pass from Clarke, and the rout was on. What’s next for Canada? A semifinal date with the loser of the United States-Mexico game. That match, which will determine who wins Group B and who comes in as the runner-up, goes on Monday. If Canada wins the semifinal (and the Canadians beat the Mexicans twice in warm-up matches before the tournament), it qualifies for the U-17 Women’s World Cup in Azerbaijan. If it loses the semifinal, it will go to the third-place game, and the winner of that consolation game will get the third and final WC berth that’s awarded to CONCACAF. RELATED: Canada’s U-17 women rout Jamaica in Group A action (CLICK) Clarke the author of five goals as Canada routs Panama (CLICK)