For FIFA and Canadian organizers, next month’s U-20 Women’s World Cup is a test run for the 2015 Women’s World Cup.

For Canadian coaches, it’s also a chance to see future and present talent in action.

Players on coach Andrew Olivieri’s under-20 squad, announced Wednesday, who have already featured on John Herdman’s senior team include centre backs Kadeisha Buchanan and Rebecca Quinn, fullback Sura Yekka and midfielders Ashley Lawrence and Jessie Fleming.

Forward Nichelle Prince made her senior debut in the Four Nation’s Women’s Tournament in China in January 2013, coming off the bench to score against South Korea.

Defender Kylie Davis is a veteran of the 2012 U-20 World Cup.

For them and their teammates, the U-20 tournament will be a valuable preface to the World Cup if they make that squad — ensuring they have a taste of what it’s like to play under the pressure of being the host team.

The U-20 tournament is scheduled for Aug. 5-24 in Edmonton, Moncton, Montreal and Toronto.

Under Olivieri, Canada went 1-2-0 at the 2012 tournament. The Canadian women failed to advance out of the group stage, thumping Argentina 6-0 before losing 2-1 to Norway and North Korea.

The Canadian coach said the 2012 experience has helped shape the preparation for this tournament. With Herdman also serving as high-performance director, consistent coaching approaches at different levels have helped ensure the Canadian women are all on the same page.

“He’s been fantastic support the last two years,” said Olivieri.

Fresh from a July 16-21 camp in Mexico, the Canadian women open the 2014 tournament Aug. 5 at BMO Field with a Group A game against Ghana. They play Finland three days later in Toronto before heading to Montreal for an Aug. 12 date with North Korea.

“We know our last match will be an extremely difficult one,” Olivieri said of the group play schedule.

The opener may be a challenge as well.

Ghana made it to the semifinals at the FIFA U-17 tournament in 2012, losing to eventual champion France. The Africans went on to defeat Germany in the third-place match.

“They won’t be easy,” said Olivieri.

The Canadians lost to North Korea in the U-17 quarter-finals with the Koreans eventually losing 7-6 to France in a penalty shootout in the final.

Such success does not always translate to the next age group, but the U-17 performance of Ghana and North Korea gives the Canadians something to think about.

The Finns were the surprise of European qualifying, beating Norway and drawing with Sweden and Germany.