The Golden Jaguars Men’s U20 football program will know their competitive fate today, when regional confederation CONCACAF conducts the official draw for the 2021 Men’s U20 Qualifiers.
This was disclosed by an official release from the entity which stated that the qualifiers will be staged in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from November 5 to 14, with the four eventual group winners progressing to the 2022 Concacaf Men’s Under-20 Championship.
“The 2021 Concacaf Men’s Under-20 Qualifiers will include the participation of the Concacaf Member Associations ranked 17 and below based on the current Concacaf Men’s Under-20 Ranking. The top 16 ranked nations have all been seeded directly to the Championship,” the release stated.
Guyana features in Pot-2 alongside the likes of Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe and Grenada. Meanwhile, Pot-1 comprises the quartet of the Dominican Republic, Bermuda, Curacao and Nicaragua, whilst Pot-3 contains Dominica, Cayman Islands, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Martinique.
Pot-4 consists of Belize, Barbados, Saint Martin, and US Virgin Islands, while Pot-5 is made up of Sint Maarten, Anguilla, Montserrat, and British Virgin Islands.
“Teams will be placed into Groups A, B, C and D according to the order in which they are drawn, with no more than one team of each pot per group”, the release disclosed.
Guyana competed in the 2018 and 2020 versions of the event. In comparison, the 2018 tournament which was hosted in the United States of America, did not feature a qualifying tournament. (All of the 34 entrants were guaranteed a minimum of four matches. Seven countries did not participate).
The Golden Jaguars finished the tournament with a record of one win and three losses. Guyana defeated El Salvador 2-0, but lost to Guatemala (0-4), Cayman Islands (2-3) and Curaçao (3-4).
In the 2020 version, Guyana defeated Montserrat 6-0, SVG 3-0 and the USVI 2-0. Their only defeat came at the hands of the higher ranked hosts via a 1-0 score line.
Presently, the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has commissioned a U20 talent ID program to aid in the selection of the squad for the upcoming event. Golden Jaguars U20 Men’s head-coach Wayne Dover confirmed that 45 players have been shortlisted following the conclusion of phase one of the program.
The GFF commenced a talent ID program on local shores to scout players in preparation for the 2022 Concacaf Men’s U20 Championship Qualifiers in November.
The first day featured players from the Georgetown, East Bank, West Demerara and East Coast Demerara associations, while the second day consisted of individuals from the Berbice, Bartica, Essequibo/Pomeroon and the Upper Demerara Football Associations. A talent ID leg will also occur in the United States of America from September 24 to 26.
