Concacaf has officially announced the key details for the 2026 Concacaf Under-20 Qualifiers, the critical first step for teams aiming for the summer’s Under-20 Championship. With the tournament just a week away, Bermuda’s young Gombey Warriors are preparing to face a gauntlet of regional rivals from February 23rd to March 4th, 2026.
The qualifying competition features member associations ranked between 7 and 41, with round-robin play distributed across three host nations: Costa Rica, Curaçao, and Nicaragua. Only the six group winners will advance to the final 12-team Championship this July, where they will join pre-qualified heavyweights such as the United States, Mexico, and Panama.
Bermuda has been drawn into Group E, a challenging pool based entirely at the Complejo Deportivo FCRF-Plycem in San Rafael de Alajuela, Costa Rica. The group includes Caribbean powerhouses and a formidable host in Costa Rica, who enter the tournament as the distinct favorites.
Bermuda’s Group E Match Schedule:
- February 24: Bermuda vs. Trinidad and Tobago (4 pm)
- February 28: Bermuda vs. Sint Maarten (1 pm)
- March 2: Bermuda vs. Costa Rica (4 pm)
- March 4: Bermuda vs. Barbados (1 pm)
Head Coach Cecoy Robinson expressed strong optimism as the squad finalizes preparations before flying out this Friday. Robinson noted that his players are currently in “good environments,” which should ensure they remain highly competitive against their regional peers.
“It’s never easy but we have a good group… so we should definitely be competitive,” Robinson stated. “We are heading out Friday to complete preparations… players are buzzing and feeling up and ready for the task; now it’s about fine-tuning and performances on the day.”
The stakes could not be higher for these young athletes. The subsequent 12-team Championship in July will serve as the final qualifying route for four slots in the 2027 FIFA Men’s Under-20 World Cup in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, as well as the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
