T&T Under-20 men's football team will host Canada, Dominica and St Vincent & the Grenadines in Group D of the 2024 Concacaf Men's Under-20 Qualifiers at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo from February 23 to March 2, 2024, in one of five qualifying series in Central America and the Caribbean.
Following the draw at Concacaf Headquarters in Miami, Florida, USA, on Wednesday morning the 27 men's Under-20 teams were drawn into three groups of five and three groups of four.
T&T will kick off its campaign on February 23 against St Vincent & the Grenadines in the second match of a doubleheader with Canada and Dominica facing off in the opener at Mucurapo
Two days later, St Vincent & the Grenadines faces Canada followed by Dominica against T&T, and then on the final day of round robin on February 27, St Vincent & The Grenadines plays Dominica while T&T tackles Canada.
Group A to be hosted by Nicaragua at the Estadio Nacional in Managua will also feature Cuba, Nicaragua, Belize, British Virgin Islands, and Anguilla; Group B will see El Salvador, Antigua & Barbuda, Suriname, Guyana, and Turks & Caicos Islands do battle at the Antigua & Barbuda Football Association Technical Centre, Piggotts, Antigua & Barbuda; Group C will comprise Guatemala, Curacao, Aruba, Saint Martin, and Barbados in clashes at the Estadio Doroteo Guamuch Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala; Group E to be hosted by the St Kitts & Nevis Football Association at in Technical Center in Basseterre, St Kitts & Nevis will involve Haiti, Puerto Rico, host nation St Kitts & Nevis, and Cayman Islands while Group F will also take place in St Kitts & Nevis inclusive of Jamaica, Bermuda, Grenada, and Martinique.
After round-robin play between February 23 and March 2, 2024, the first-place team from each group will advance to the 2024 Concacaf Men's Under-20 Championship, joining the six pre-seeded top-ranked nations.
The 12-team Championship is scheduled for the summer of 2024 and will feature the region’s 12 best men’s Under-20 national teams divided into three groups of four.
The nations pre-seeded into the Championships’ Group Stage are USA, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic.
After round-robin play, the two top teams of each group and the two best third-place teams will advance to a knockout stage comprised of quarterfinals, semifinals, and final.
At the conclusion of the competition, the four top finishers (semifinalists) will qualify for the 2025 FIFA Men’s Under-20 World Cup.
In the previous edition of the Concacaf Men’s U-20 Championship, played in Honduras in 2022, the USA won its third title after defeating the Dominican Republic 6-0 in the Final, while T&T under the supervision of coach Angus Eve reached as far as the round-of-16 before losing 4-1 to Costa Rica at the Yankel Rosenthal Stadium in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
By reaching the tournament’s final, both nations secured a berth in the Paris 2024 Men’s Olympic Football Tournament.
Concacaf Under-20 Qualifiers groupings:
February 23 to March 2, 2024:
Group A (Estadio Nacional, Managua, Nicaragua): Cuba, Nicaragua, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla
Group B (ABFA Technical Centre, Piggotts, Antigua & Barbuda): El Salvador, Antigua & Barbuda, Suriname, Guyana, and Turks & Caicos Islands
Group C (Estadio Doroteo Guamuch Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala): Guatemala, Curacao, Aruba, Saint Martin, Barbados
Group D (Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain, T&T): Canada, T&To, St Vincent & The Grenadines, Dominica
Group E (SKNFA Technical Center, Basseterre, St Kitts/Nevis): Haiti, Puerto Rico, St Kitts/Nevis, Cayman Islands
Group F (SKNFA Technical Center, Basseterre, St Kitts/Nevis): Jamaica, Bermuda, Grenada, and Martinique
Group D matches:
February 23: Canada vs Dominica; T&T vs St Vincent & The Grenadines
February 25: St Vincent & The Grenadines vs Canada; Dominica vs T&T
February 27: St Vincent & The Grenadines vs Dominica; T&T vs Canada