Guyana has been placed in ‘Group F’ of the six groups that would be contesting in the 2018 Under-20 playing of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Championships, following the official drawing yesterday.
Guyana’s goalkeeper Kai McKenzie-Lyle
The tournament, which involves 35 teams, will see Guyana competing against El Salvador, Guatemala, Curacao and Cayman Islands at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida from November 1 – 22.
Technical Director of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), Ian Greenwood, thinks the tournament would contribute to further development of the U-20 players.
“The redesign and concept of the U-20 Championships is very exciting. We are in a competitive and challenging group. The exposure (that would be gained from) playing Central American opposition such as El Salvador will massively benefit our players as they develop into senior football.
“Our U-20s are a talented group, with several already in and around the Senior Golden Jaguars set-up,” he declared.
CONCACAF has declared this year’s tournament format different from what had obtained in previous years. This year’s format is designed to enable participating teams to be engaged in high-level, consistent and competitive football.
GFF Technical Director, Ian Greenwood
“Unlike the previous format of the Men’s Under-20 competition, which included regional qualifiers in the Caribbean and Central America and one final championship, the redesigned 2018 format would ensure that all the participating teams have access to play more top-level football matches,” Greenwood has said.
The first round of the tournament would see five groups consisting of six teams and one group consisting of five teams engaged in a round-robin format of play. CONCACAF explains the format by stating, “Following the first round, the six group winners will advance to the qualification stage, where they will be divided into two groups of three teams. After a second round-robin play, the two group winners plus the second placed finishers will qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Additionally, the two groups winners will advance to the tournament’s final to determine the regional champion.”
Other teams participating in these championships are as follows:
‘GROUP A’: USA, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Puerto Rico, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the US Virgin Islands.
‘GROUP B’: Mexico, Jamaica, Aruba, Nicaragua, Grenada, Saint Martin.
‘GROUP C’: Honduras, Cuba, Antigua & Barbuda, Dominican Republic, Belize and Sint Maarten.
‘GROUP D’: Panama, Canada, St. Kitts & Nevis, Guadeloupe, Dominica and Martinique.
‘GROUP E’: Costa Rica, Haiti, Bermuda, Saint Lucia and Barbados.
‘GROUP F’: El Salvador, Guatemala, Curacao, Guyana and Cayman Islands
