Canada's Deanne Rose, right, and Zimbabwe's Sheila Makoto fight for the ball during a an Olympic soccer match on Aug. 6, 2016.Nelson Antoine/The Associated Press
Canada's young team ended the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup with a 5-0 loss to Japan on Sunday.
Canada, with an eye to the future, fielded a team with an average age of 17.3 at the tournament, with six members of the starting lineup playing at the U-17 World Cup, and seven players eligible to play in the next U-20 World Cup.
"Our goal going into Papua New Guinea was to test our players against strong teams – and we got that playing against Spain, Nigeria and Japan – and to ensure key players in our Excel System [development program] that are tracking towards our national women's team gained experience against various styles of international football," said Canada's U-20 coach Daniel Worthington.
"Playing three confederation champions, in the heat of Papua New Guinea, tested these players and gave us an opportunity to assess how they responded to various conditions and styles of play."
Canada ended the tournament 0-3.
The Excel System, designed by women's head coach John Herdman, has produced eight national team players and Olympic bronze medalists in Kadeisha Buchanan, Ashley Lawrence, Jessie Fleming, Rebecca Quinn, Janine Beckie, Shelina Zadorsky, Deanne Rose and Gabrielle Carle.