Vancouver FC’s James Cameron is finally seeing the light at the end of the five-month-long tunnel. The North Vancouver native is going to the Concacaf U-20 Championship with Canada after earning a spot on the U-20 Men’s National Team roster later this month.
Cameron, 19, started this journey back in February when he earned his first international call up for Canada’s U-20 team in the Concacaf Championship qualifiers. Canada faced Dominica, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, and hosts Trinidad and Tobago with only the first-place team from the group advancing to the U-20 Championship. Low-and-behold, Canada swept the competition with Cameron making appearances in all three matches, including one start, playing a total of 146 minutes.
The next stage of Cameron’s journey occurred just last month when the B.C.-born defender earned his second call up for a series of international friendlies. The three matches were played in La Calera, Chile with the sole purpose of preparing for the U-20 Championship and seeing potential Canadian athletes who would represent their country in the tournament. In June, Cameron missed nearly two weeks with the Eagles representing his country where he made one start in Canada’s opening match against hosts Chile.
Now finally, Cameron is off to Mexico with Canada for the nation’s 25th appearance in the Concacaf U-20 Championship. The group stage of the tournament is set to start on Friday, July 19 and run until Saturday, July 27 with Canada competing at Estadio Sergio León Chávez in Irapuato, Mexico. Canada was drawn into Group B back in April along with Honduras, last year’s tournament runners-up Dominican Republic, and El Salvador who Cameron and Canada will face on Saturday, July 20, Tuesday, July 23, and Friday, July 26, respectively.
The top two countries from each group plus the two best third-place teams will advance to the knockout stage which begins with the quarter-finals on Tuesday, July 30. If Canada’s able to make it all the way, the finale will take place on Sunday, Aug. 4 in Celaya, Mexico. Nearly more important than being crowned the region’s best U-20 soccer country, the top four finishers will secure their spots in the 2025 FIFA World Cup next year.
In Cameron’s second season as a professional soccer player, the 19-year-old has made three starts in seven appearances across all of Vancouver’s competitions. Cameron most recently played the full 90-minutes in VFC’s vicious 3-3 battle against Forge FC to close out the road series against the Hamilton-side undefeated.
“James continues to take giant strides in his development and we are thrilled that he can be part of the next generation of Canadian football at the national youth level,” said Vancouver FC’s Head Coach Afshin Ghotbi.
“We wish both James and Canada’s U-20 Men’s National Team success at the Concacaf Championships and beyond,” said Ghotbi.
Cameron will embark on international duty during two of Vancouver’s upcoming Canadian Premier League (CPL) matches including the Pink Party: Inclusion night on Friday, July 12 against Atlético Ottawa and the club’s Beach Party night on Saturday, July 20 against York United FC. Although Cameron is on the road, VFC is posting up at Willoughby Park so make sure to get your tickets to any of the three games in July online here or in person at Gate 1 of the Langley Event Centre.
