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The U.S. Under-20 Men’s Youth National Team is ready to return to official international competition this weekend at the 2024 Concacaf U-20 Championship. Just four teams will qualify to the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile.
As the U.S. aims for its fourth-straight Concacaf title, here are five things to know about CU20:
The biennial Concacaf U-20 Championship will qualify four teams to the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile and crown a confederation champion for North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
This year’s tournament will be the first using the new format approved by the Concacaf Council in February 2023 for future U-17 and U-20 tournaments. Three major changes were made:
Twelve teams from across the Concacaf region will compete at the tournament. The top six ranked U-20 Concacaf teams automatically qualified:
The six remaining teams (Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Canada, Haiti, and Jamaica) qualified for the main tournament through the qualifying round which took place from February 23 to March 2 in five different host countries.
The group stage is made up of three groups of four teams playing a round-robin format. Eight teams, the top two teams in each group and the two best third-place teams, advance to the quarterfinals to begin the knockout stage. The teams then play a single-elimination format to crown the champion.
The four quarterfinal winners will qualify for the 2025 U-20 FIFA World Cup in Chile.
All 25 tournament matches will take place at two venues in Celaya and Irapuato in Mexico.
| Group A | Group B | Group C |
|---|---|---|
| USA | Honduras | Mexico |
| Costa Rica | Dominican Republic | Panama |
| Cuba | El Salvador | Guatemala |
| Jamaica | Canada | Haiti |
The U-20 MYNT kicks off World Cup qualifying on Friday, July 19 vs. Jamaica, squares up with Cuba on Monday, July 22 and wraps up Group A play against Costa Rica on Thursday, July 25.
Fans can follow all of the action from Mexico on ussoccer.com as well as U.S. Soccer Facebook, X, and Instagram.
All matches will be broadcast in the U.S. in English on FOX Sports networks and in Spanish by TelevisaUnivision networks.
| Date | Match-up | Kickoff (ET) | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, July 19 | USA vs. Jamaica | 10:06 p.m. | Estadio Miguel Alemán Valdés; Celaya, Mexico |
| Monday, July 22 | USA vs. Cuba | 10:06 p.m. | Estadio Miguel Alemán Valdés; Celaya, Mexico |
| Thursday, July 25 | USA vs. Costa Rica | 10:06 p.m. | Estadio Miguel Alemán Valdés; Celaya, Mexico |
Head coach Michael Nsien has called up a sharp 21-player roster to try for a fourth straight Concacaf title. The roster features players from 20 clubs, including 14 from Major League Soccer. Six players are based abroad in England (two players), Germany (two), Portugal, and Spain.
Midfielder Niko Tsakiris helped the U.S. qualify for the last FIFA U-20 World Cup at the 2022 Concacaf U-20 Championship, netting three goals, and also represented the USA at the World Cup in Argentina. Nine players were a part of the USA’s strong showing at the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup last fall in Indonesia: goalkeeper Adam Beaudry, defenders Aiden Harangi and Stuart Hawkins, midfielders Taha Habroune, Cruz Medina, and Pedro Soma plus forwards Nimfasha Berchimas, Keyrol Figueroa and David Vazquez.
Three helped the U.S. take fourth at the 2023 Pan American Games in Chile, its best finish since 1999: defender Nolan Norris plus midfielders Sergio Oregel Jr. and Brooklyn Raines.
Sixteen of 20 players have played in both MLS NEXT and MLS NEXT Pro in their careers. These 16 have appeared in over 400 MLS NEXT Pro games and half of them (eight) have gone on to play in MLS. Forwards Ruben Ramos Jr. (LA Galaxy) and Berchimas (Charlotte FC) played against one another in the 2024 U17 MLS NEXT Cup Final on June 23, which the Galaxy won 4-1 behind a hat trick from Ramos Jr. He was also named the Top Scorer of MLS NEXT Cup with a tournament-high eight goals.
GOALKEEPERS (3): Adam Beaudry (Colorado Rapids; Castle Pines, Colo.), Julian Eyestone (Brentford FC/ENG; Dallas, Texas), Duran Ferree (Orange County SC; San Diego, Calif.)
DEFENDERS (6): Luca Bambino (Los Angeles FC; Saugus, Calif.), Noah Cobb (Atlanta United FC; Chattanooga, Tenn.), Aiden Harangi (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER; Reston, Va.), Stuart Hawkins (Seattle Sounders FC; Fox Island, Wash.), Ethan Kohler (Werder Bremen/GER; Campbell, Calif.), Nolan Norris (FC Dallas; Fort Worth, Texas)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Taha Habroune (Columbus Crew; Columbus, Ohio), Cruz Medina (San Jose Earthquakes; San Francisco, Calif.), Sergio Oregel Jr. (Chicago Fire FC; Chicago, Ill.), Brooklyn Raines (Houston Dynamo FC; Chicago, Ill.), Pedro Soma (UE Cornella/ESP; Coconut Creek, Fla.), Niko Tsakiris (San Jose Earthquakes; Saratoga, Calif.)
FORWARDS (6): NimfashaBerchimas (Charlotte FC; High Point, N.C.), Keyrol Figueroa (Liverpool/ENG; Warrington, England), Zavier Gozo (Real Salt Lake; Eagle Mountain, Utah), Ruben Ramos Jr. (LA Galaxy; La Puente, Calif.), David Vazquez (Philadelphia Union; Los Angeles, Calif.), Marcos Zambrano (Vitoria Guimaraes/POR; Parkland, Fla.)
The USA enters the Concacaf U-20 Championship as defending champion after taking home the last three titles at this age level in 2017, 2018, and 2022.
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 penalties, 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.
In 2022, the USA had a dominating run through its seven matches, outscoring opponents 31-2 and not allowing a goal in the knockout stages (four matches) enroute to a third-straight title. Paxten Aaronson won the Golden Boot as the tournament’s top scorer and the Golden Ball as the tournament’s top player. Chris Brady won the Golden Glove as the tournament’s best goalkeeper. Current U-20 player Niko Tsakiris notched a goal and assist in the U.S.’s 6-0 win over the Dominican Republic in the final.
The Concacaf Under-20 Championship launched in Panama in 1962 as the Concacaf Youth Tournament and this year marks the 29th 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.
