Trinidad and Tobago National Under 20 men’s team will face Mexico and Cuba in their opening group of the Concacaf final round of qualification in Guatemala in April ahead of the 2011 FIFA Under 20 World Cup later this year in Colombia.
This was determined at the draw on Friday which sees defending champion Costa Rica heading Group C and play Canada and Guadeloupe in the first round while five-time champion Mexico will play T&T and Cuba in Group D.
T&T head coach Zoran Vranes, currently in Fort Lauderdale with the T&T team for a training camp, said he was encouraged even more about T&T’s chances of qualifying for a second successive Under 20 World Cup after guiding the team to the 2009 Finals in Egypt.
“Well it’s not a bad draw at all. We all know Mexico is a giant in the Concacaf but in the last Under 20 qualification we did well against them at the Marvin Lee Stadium so I am not worried about being in the same group as them.
Cuba always produce good teams in this age group but they are not beyond us. I think if we prepare well and with our best team on the field, we can definitely get through this ground and qualify for the quarter finals and then move on to the last four which will put us in Colombia,” Vranes told TTFF Media.
Friday's draw at the InterContinental Hotel in Guatemala City set the matchups for the round-robin play with the United States facing Panama and Suriname in Group B, and host Guatemala taking on Central American rival Honduras and Jamaica in Group A.
The tournament, set for March 28-April 10 in Guatemala City, will determine the region's four qualifiers for the U-20 World Cup in Colombia July 29-August 20.
Like the U-17 championship tournament format, the top two teams in each group will advance to the quarterfinals April 5-6 with the winners qualifying for Colombia.
The winner from Group A will play the runner-up from Group B and vice versa in the quarterfinals, and Groups C and D also will play crossover knockout matches.
The semifinals will be played April 8 with the championship match two days later. A full schedule is expected to be released next week.
CONCACAF Under-20 Championship
Group A: Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica
Group B: Untied States, Panama, Suriname
Group C: Canada, Costa Rica, Guadeloupe
Group D: Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, Cuba