Technical Director (TD) of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), Bryan Joseph, has confirmed that the national U20 programme has resumed its preparatory phase for the impending 2024 edition of the CONCACAF Men’s U20 Qualifiers.
This was disclosed during a brief interview yesterday with Stabroek Sport. According to Joseph, “We started some talent identification in December, and then we took a break for the Christmas/New Year period, and we are now starting back. Today [yesterday] was the first day back with the local players. Head coach Kayode McKinnon and goalkeeper coach Richard Reynolds, who live in the United States, are expected to come for a one-week training session from the 22nd–28th. We are also inviting international-based players. After the one-week training camp, we will break for a couple of days. The local boys that make the final cut will continue to have sessions with the local coach, Vurlon Mills, during that period. The head coach and goalkeeper will return from February 8th through the departure.”
The Golden Jaguars have been drawn in group B of the qualifiers, which will occur across five venues in the Caribbean and Central America during the period of February 23rd–March 2nd. The teams were seeded in their respective pots based on their current rankings.
The Guyanese, who were seeded in pool 4 of the five-pot selection process, have been paired with El Salvador, Antigua and Barbuda, Suriname, and Turks and Caicos. The matches will be staged in Antigua and Barbuda at the island’s technical centre.
Guyana, which is ranked 27th, will open its campaign against the hosts on February 23rd. They will then oppose El Salvador two days later, before battling Suriname on the 27th. Guyana’s final match will occur on February 29th against the Turks and Caicos.
Asked about the number of players currently on the team’s provisional list, he revealed, “The provisional list of local players is 40, and right now we have about 15 international players that have expressed interest. We don’t believe all will come for the trials, which lie solely with the players, their parents, and clubs. However, they should come as the second training camp might not give enough time to make the final list as it has to be submitted 10 days before the first match.”
Meanwhile, group A comprises Cuba, Nicaragua, Belize, the British Virgin Islands, and Anguilla, while group C contains Guatemala, Curacao, Aruba, Saint Martin, and Barbados, and group D consists of Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Dominica.
On the other hand, group E is made up of Haiti, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts and Nevis, and the Cayman Islands, with Jamaica, Bermuda, Grenada, and Martinique comprising group F.
Upon the conclusion of the group stage, the respective pool winner will advance to the 2024 CONCACAF Men’s U-20 Championship, joining the top six seeds that have automatically qualified in the form of the defending champion United States of America, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic.
The 12 teams in the championship round will be divided into three groups of four teams, with the top two teams from each pool, as well as the two best third-place finishers, advancing to the quarterfinal section. The resulting top four finishers [semi-finalists] will earn berths to the 2025 FIFA Men’s U20 World Cup.
Guyana finished third in Group D in the 2022 edition of the qualifiers, ending with a record of one win, one draw, and a loss for four points and a goal differential of -1. In the 2020 edition, Guyana ended in second place in group ‘A’ of the qualifiers with a record of three wins, a draw for nine points, and a goal differential of +10.
