Trinidad and Tobago’s men’s under-17 footballers will be among the 35 nations who will be vying for eight qualifying spots when the 2025 Concacaf Men’s Under-17 World Cup qualifiers are held from February 7-16.
With spaces up for grabs at next year’s Fifa Under-17 Men’s World Cup to be held in Qatar, Concacaf confirmed the draw for the eight qualifying groups on October 24. The TT team has been placed in group B alongside the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Costa Rica, Guyana and Sint Maarten. TT’s group will be hosted by Costa Rica, with games being played at the Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto, Alajuela.
TT will start their campaign against Guyana on February 7, before facing BVI and Sint Maarten on February 9 and 13 respectively. TT’s under-17s will then close off the group stage against host and favourites Costa Rica on February 16.
After round-robin play, the winners of the eight groups will advance to the 48-team Under-17 World Cup.
Bermuda will host group A, Mexico will host group C, Honduras will host group D and Panama will host group G. Costa Rica (B and F) and Guatemala (groups E and H) will host two groups each.
The reigning champs Mexico have been drawn alongside Barbados, Belize, Dominica and Nicaragua.
Last February, under coach Shawn Cooper, TT advanced to the round of 16 stage of the Concacaf Under-17 Championships before being defeated by El Salvador in a 3-2 thriller which was settled in extra-time. TT’s goals in the knockout loss were scored by Crystal Palace’s Rio Cardines and playmaker Lindell Sween, a current Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) standout with San Juan North Secondary.
Last August, at the 2023 Concacaf under-15 Championships, TT grabbed a 2-0 win over Costa Rica in their group stage meeting in Santo Domingo, with Jeremiah Daniel and Jonathan Mason giving Cooper’s charges the win.
Groups for 2025 Concacaf Under-17 Men’s qualifiers:
Group A: Anguilla, Bermuda, Canada, Curacao, Turks and Caicos.
Group B: British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, Guyana, Sint Maarten, TT.
Group C: Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Mexico, Nicaragua.
Group D: Bonaire, Honduras, Puerto Rico, Saint Martin.
Group E: Antigua and Barbuda, Guatemala, Haiti, St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Group F: Cuba, St Kitts and Nevis, US, USVI.
Group G: Aruba, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Panama.
Group H: Cayman Islands, El Salvador, Jamaica, St Lucia.
