Rising defender in second year at Princeton Zoe Markesini will play for Canada in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, which begins on August 31 in Colombia.

“From the moment we met Zoe in the recruiting process, (Associate Head Coach) Mike (Poller), (Assistant Coach) Chris (Duggan) and I could sense the pride she had in representing her home country of Canada,” said Princeton’s head coach Sean Driscoll said. “At the time, she was captain of the U-17 national team and we pledged our full support if the opportunities continued with Canada. When the dates for the U-20 World Championship were announced, we knew there was a good chance she would be included in the squad. Zoe’s IQ, athleticism, ball sense and defensive strength are unmistakable. Both our staff and the Canadian team admire these qualities equally. However, it is her humility and gratitude coupled with these qualities that set her apart. Our staff and players couldn’t be happier about this well-deserved, once-in-a-lifetime moment for Zoe. We will be glued to the TV cheering her on.”

The 24-team event will take place in the capital city of Bogotá, Medellín and Cali. Canada is in a group with France, Fiji and Brazil and will face those teams on August 31, September 3 and September 6. The top two teams in the group, as well as four of the six third-place teams, will qualify for the 16-team knockout round. The knockout round begins on September 11, with the finals on September 22. Princeton teammate Pietra Tordin is participating in this event for Team USA and since the USA and Canada are playing in different groups, a meeting between the two teams is possible in the knockout round at the earliest.

This is not the first time Markesini has represented Canada at a FIFA Women’s World Cup age group. Two years ago, Markesini was part of the Canadian team at the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in India.

The event began in 2002 as the U-19 Women’s World Championship before becoming a U-20 event in 2006. Canada’s best finish in the event, which is held every two years, excluding the cancelled 2020 event, was a second-place finish in the inaugural tournament in 2002. Canada’s last trip to the knockout rounds was in 2014.

For Princeton, Markesini played 18 games in her rookie season last fall, starting 13 times and participating in six shutouts.