CONCACAF U20 qualifying (for the cycle ending in 2025) + preparation & news

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

The first phase has just been announced:

https://www.concacaf.com/under-20s-men/article/2024-concacaf-men-s-under-20-qualifiers-draw-set-for-october-11/

The draw will be October 11th for a tournament that starts on February 23rd.

We need to play in this preliminary phase because we are 12th in the U20 CONCACAF rankings:

https://www.concacaf.com/rankings/men-s-under-20/

Host venues are likely to be different for each group and will be draw-dependent. 

Eligible players are those 2005 and younger.

If we are drawn against a stronger Pot 2 team like Trinidad and Tobago, and fail to beat them, we could be out of contention for the 2025 FIFA U20 World Cup as early as March 2024! 😬

Edited September 29, 2023 by Olympique_de_Marseille

[toontownman]

Wow I can't believe so many players have aged out already.

I assume this will be predominantly the u17 team with Lazovic, Pearlman maybe Anatneh, Henry and Bunbury if eligible, Costa if he will come.

I know there are a handful of other duals playing for the likes of Bulgaria/turkey/Romania youth we probably won't get.

[VinceA]

Just now, toontownman said:

Wow I can't believe so many players have aged out already.

I assume this will be predominantly the u17 team with Lazovic, Pearlman maybe Anatneh, Henry and Bunbury if eligible, Costa if he will come.

I know there are a handful of other duals playing for the likes of Bulgaria/turkey/Romania youth we probably won't get.

Abatneh, Henry (Mael?) are too old. U20 is 2005 and later.

[VinceA]

From the CPL from what I can see these guys are all 2005s

James Cameron and Lennon Thompson (Vancouver FC)

Khadim Kane (Forge FC)

Michael Harms (Cavalry FC)

 

 

[toontownman]

58 minutes ago, VinceA said:

Abatneh, Henry (Mael?) are too old. U20 is 2005 and later.

I even looked that 2005 date up and missed those two's age!

Erik Pop and maybe Ivan Pavela too.

Cameron is a great shout and should be a lock. He looks great.

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

2 hours ago, toontownman said:

I assume this will be predominantly the u17 team...

I assume so as well.

The original '05s thread is here:

https://www.canadiansoccernews.com/forums/topic/76191-class-of-2005/

If we start with our U17 team as the baseline, after our final match at the U17 World Cup, we can essentially play the "Who would you cut from that squad for an older '05 player?" game.

[VinceA]

If the team is filled with mostly guys not playing pro we won't be going far.

Granted we don't go far in U20 tournaments anyway.

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

1 minute ago, VinceA said:

Granted we don't go far in U20 tournaments anyway.

7 hours ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

If we are drawn against a stronger Pot 2 team like Trinidad and Tobago, and fail to beat them, we could be out of contention for the 2025 FIFA U20 World Cup as early as March 2024! 😬

Well, I hope we get farther than March 2024. That would feel so tragic. We could be eliminated from WCQing before they even announce the host country!

[VinceA]

3 minutes ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

Well, I hope we get farther than March 2024. That would feel so tragic. We could be eliminated from WCQing before they even announce the host country!

Oh wow I didn't even realize it's not just one tournament anymore 😬

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

44 minutes ago, VinceA said:

Oh wow I didn't even realize it's not just one tournament anymore 😬

Ya!

"The 12-team Championship is scheduled for the summer of 2024"

Let's at least get to the main qualifying tournament!

[Shway]

Provided we qualify for the final tournament, this preliminary round could be the necessary prep they probably wouldn't have. 

[Shway]

Somebody clarify....
I thought the U- whatever eligibility is determined by the year they turn the age. Like Saliba is an 04 turning 20 next year...why wouldn't he be eligible? 

I get he won't be eligible for the WC in 25 provided they qualify, but why not Concacaf?

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

22 minutes ago, Shway said:

Somebody clarify....
I thought the U- whatever eligibility is determined by the year they turn the age. Like Saliba is an 04 turning 20 next year...why wouldn't he be eligible? 

I get he won't be eligible for the WC in 25 provided they qualify, but why not Concacaf?

I assume it is '05s and younger because in the past CONCACAF has worked that way.

They have used the same age eligibility criteria as the final FIFA tournament.

This setup tends to make sense; being able to play in the qualifiers but too old to play in the tournament you are trying to qualify for would be awkward and possibly demoralizing.

[kacbru]

1 hour ago, Shway said:

Provided we qualify for the final tournament, this preliminary round could be the necessary prep they probably wouldn't have. 

This is exactly my fear. The CSA will treat it as prep for the final qualification to justify how they can cut costs by bringing the team together the night before and they will be eliminated. 

[CanadaFan123]

1 hour ago, Shway said:

Provided we qualify for the final tournament, this preliminary round could be the necessary prep they probably wouldn't have. 

100%. Just like the men’s team for 2022 qualifying. 

[VinceA]

1 hour ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

I assume it is '05s and younger because in the past CONCACAF has worked that way.

They have used the same age eligibility criteria as the final FIFA tournament.

This setup tends to make sense; being able to play in the qualifiers but too old to play in the tournament you are trying to qualify for would be awkward and possibly demoralizing.

Personally I do not like how UEFA does it with the "your age the day qualifying begins" that just seems so random.

[Shway]

7 hours ago, VinceA said:

Personally I do not like how UEFA does it with the "your age the day qualifying begins" that just seems so random.

I like it because there's so many guys within that age bracket that need international competition & additional exposure. It's essentially the B team to the senior team. 

I wish Concacaf had a consistent u23 tournament, other than every 4 years. 

In this instance we have a bunch of guys that miss out due to being born in an off year. 

[Kent]

I hate it too how Europe does it. 22 year olds playing U20 makes no sense. Just change the name of your competition to make it make sense.

[Shway]

2 hours ago, Kent said:

I hate it too how Europe does it. 22 year olds playing U20 makes no sense. Just change the name of your competition to make it make sense.

So your more stuck on the name, rather than the competition itself?

I think the competition is great. It has more value than u17 or u20 tournaments imo.

...some 17 or 19yo are more than good enough to play against 23yo...just not "full grown" men. That's where this competition is a better assessor of the next level of talent. 

[Kent]

6 hours ago, Shway said:

So your more stuck on the name, rather than the competition itself?

I think the competition is great. It has more value than u17 or u20 tournaments imo.

...some 17 or 19yo are more than good enough to play against 23yo...just not "full grown" men. That's where this competition is a better assessor of the next level of talent. 

Basically. I don't have any particularly strong feelings with a U23 competition one way or the other, just don't call it U21. Just like I don't have a problem with the English League system, but the naming of their leagues are a pet peeve of mine.

[JamesF]

My early guess of the roster

GK: Gregoire Swiderski (Bordeaux B ) 2005
GK: Cohen Park (Whitecaps 2) 2005
GK: Ivan Pavela (Lokomotiva U19) 2005 
CB: Adam Pearlman (Toronto FC II)  2005
CB: Lazar Stefanovic (Toronto FC II) 2006
CB: Luc de Fougerolles (Fulham U21) 2005
CB: Thomas Bouffard (CF Montreal U23) 2005
CB: Chimere Omeze (Toronto FC II) 2006
LB: Mihail Gherasimencov (Whitecaps 2) 2005
LB: Gael De Montigny (CF Montreal U23) 2006
RB: James Cameron (Vancouver FC) 2005
RB: Theo Rigopoulos (Toronto FC II) 2006
DM: Khadim Kane (Forge FC) 2005
DM: Alessandro Biello (CF Montreal U23) 2006
CM: Jesse Costa (Wolfsburg U19) 2005 
CM: Lucas Olguin (Toronto FC II) 2005
CM: Jeevan Badwal  (Whitecaps 2) 2006
CM: Matteo Schiavoni (Bologna U19) 2005
FWD: Farrel Ngongang (CF Montreal U23) 2005
FWD: Mateo Bunbury (Columbus Crew 2) 2005
FWD: Oumar Diallo (Inter Milan U19) 2005
FWD: Guesly Alexandre (CF Montreal U23) 2005

[SpursFlu]

I would love to hear from fans of other CPL teams because I'm not sure how many teenagers have made an Impact for their teams. But Crawford, Tahid & Coimbra come to mind as considerations for this team. I think Cameron is an obvious consideration 

Edited October 9, 2023 by SpursFlu

[phresh]

Is there a site that tracks the stats of L1Q players?

[phresh]

Just now, SpursFlu said:

I would love to hear from fans of other CPL teams because I'm not sure how many teenagers have made an Impact for their teams. But Crawford & Coimbra come to mind as considerations for this team. I think Cameron is an obvious consideration 

Crawford and Coimbra are too old, it's '05 and younger

[Xavier.]

43 minutes ago, SpursFlu said:

I would love to hear from fans of other CPL teams because I'm not sure how many teenagers have made an Impact for their teams. But Crawford, Tahid & Coimbra come to mind as considerations for this team. I think Cameron is an obvious consideration 

Crawford and Coimbra are too old. 2005 and younger