The U.S. Under-20 Men’s Youth National Team is ready to return to official international competition this weekend at the 2022 Concacaf U-20 Championship. The stakes have never been higher at the tournament, as four teams will qualify to the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup and two teams to the 2024 Olympic Games.
As the U.S. aims for its third-straight Concacaf title, here are five things to know about CU20:
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The biennial Concacaf U-20 Championship will qualify four teams to the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Indonesia, send two teams to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and crown a confederation champion for North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
Twenty teams from across the Concacaf region will compete at the tournament. Sixteen have been drawn into four groups of four, while four advanced directly to the Round of 16 via a pre-qualifying tournament held in the Dominican Republic last November. All 40 tournament matches will take place at three venues in Honduras’ two largest cities, Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula.
|
Group E |
Group F |
Group G |
Group H |
|
USA |
Mexico |
Panama |
Honduras |
|
Cuba |
Haiti |
El Salvador |
Costa Rica |
|
Canada |
Trinidad and Tobago |
Guatemala |
Jamaica |
|
Saint Kitts and Nevis |
Suriname |
Aruba |
Antigua and Barbuda |
USA SCHEDULE
The U-20 MYNT kicks off World Cup qualifying on Saturday, June 18 vs. St. Kitts and Nevis, faces regional rival Canada on Monday, June 20 and wraps up Group E play against Cuba on Wednesday, June 22.
Fans can follow all of the action from Honduras on ussoccer.com as well as U.S. Soccer Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
|
Date |
Match-up |
Kickoff (ET) |
Venue |
|
Saturday, June 18 |
USA vs. St. Kitts and Nevis |
4 p.m. |
Estadio Nacional; Tegucigalpa, Honduras |
|
Monday, June 20 |
USA vs. Canada |
8:30 p.m. |
Estadio Nacional; Tegucigalpa, Honduras |
|
Wednesday, June 22 |
USA vs. Cuba |
8:30 p.m. ET |
Estadio Nacional; Tegucigalpa, Honduras |
ABOUT THE U-20 MYNT
Head coach Mikey Varas has called up a versatile 20-player roster to face the challenges of Concacaf World Cup qualifying. Seventeen players come from Major League Soccer, led by four from the Philadelphia Union, while three are based abroad in Belgium, Croatia and Portugal.
Midfielder Caden Clark and forward Cade Cowell both have previous experience with the senior USMNT, as the pair received call-ups to the full team’s December training camp in Carson, Calif. Cowell made his senior international debut in the USMNT’s friendly vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Defender Mauricio Cuevas is the lone player with Concacaf World Cup qualifying experience, as he helped the U-17 MYNT reach a record 17th FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2019. Midfielder Rokas Pukstas played for the U.S. during its semifinal run at the 2019 Concacaf U-15 Boys’ Championship.[MM1] [MM2]
Six players have appeared in four of five U-20 camps since the cycle kicked off in November 2021: midfielders Paxten Aaronson, Caden Clark, Daniel Edelman, Diego Luna and Jack McGlynn as well as forward Quinn Sullivan.
2022 CONCACAF U-20 CHAMPIONSHIP ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB; HOMETOWN)
GOALKEEPERS (2): Christopher Brady (Chicago Fire FC; Naperville, Ill.), Antonio Carrera (FC Dallas; Frisco, Texas
DEFENDERS (6): Noah Allen (Inter Miami CF; Miramar, Fla.), Brandan Craig (Philadelphia Union; Philadelphia, Pa.), Mauricio Cuevas (Club Brugge/BEL; Los Angeles, Calif.), Marcus Ferkranus (LA Galaxy; Santa Clarita, Calif.), Michael Halliday (Orlando City SC; Apopka, Fla.), Jalen Neal (LA Galaxy; Lakewood, Calif.)
MIDFIELDERS (9): Paxten Aaronson (Philadelphia Union; Medford, N.J.), Alejandro Alvarado Jr. (FC Vizela/POR; Los Angeles, Calif.), Caden Clark (New York Red Bulls; Wayzata, Minn.) Daniel Edelman (New York Red Bulls; Warren, N.J.), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake; Sunnyvale, Calif.), Jack McGlynn (Philadelphia Union; Middle Village, N.Y.), Rokas Pukstas (Hajduk Split/CRO; Sillwater, Okla.), Niko Tsakiris (San Jose Earthquakes; Saratoga, Calif.), Obed Vargas (Seattle Sounders FC; Anchorage, Alaska)
FORWARDS (3): Cade Cowell (San Jose Earthquakes; Ceres, Calif.), Quinn Sullivan (Philadelphia Union; Philadelphia, Pa.), Tyler Wolff (Atlanta United FC; Braselton, Ga.)
EYES ON THE THREE-PEAT
The USA enters the Concacaf U-20 Championship as defending champion after taking home its first-ever two titles at this age level in 2017 and 2018. Both championship-winning squads featured a number of players that have progressed to the senior USMNT player pool and put on strong showings at the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
In Costa Rica in 2017, the U.S. won its first U-20 Concacaf title in dramatic fashion. After edging Mexico and El Salvador in the classification stage, the U.S. topped Honduras in penalties, 5-3, in the tournament final. Current USMNT midfielder Luca de la Torre netted one of the PK’s, while defender Erik Palmer-Brown won the Golden Ball as the tourney’s best player. Midfielders Tyler Adams and Eryk Williamson also represented the U.S.
In 2018, the USA ran the gauntlet in a 34-team qualifying tournament, Concacaf’s largest-ever. Scoring 46 goals in seven games, USMNT defenders Sergiño Dest, Mark McKenzie and Chris Richards all played for the U.S. in Florida, with Dest and McKenzie being named to the tournament’s Best XI. The USA took home its second Concacaf title by defeating Mexico 2-0 in the final on a brace from Golden Ball winner Alex Mendez.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Concacaf Under-20 Championship launched in Panama in 1962 as the Concacaf Youth Tournament and this year marks the 28th edition of the competition. The first five tournaments were played as regional championships before the introduction of the FIFA Youth Championship (now the FIFA U-20 World Cup) in 1977 and since then, it’s served as qualifying for the biennial age group world championship.
Played under a wide variety of formats, the tournament awarded two U-20 World Cup berths from 1976 to 1994. Since 1996, four Concacaf nations have qualified to the World Cup.
The U.S. has participated in 25 of 28 tournaments, including each tournament since 1974, and qualified for the World Cup in 16 of 23 attempts. After missing the 2011 tournament, the U.S. has played in the last four U-20 World Cups and is the only nation to reach the quarterfinals in the last three competitions/meetings.