Trinidad and Tobago grouped with Costa Rica for Concacaf Men's U-20 qualifiers

In order to achieve their goal of qualifying for the Fifa Men's Under-20 World Cup in 2027, TT's men's Under-20 team must navigate a group which includes Costa Rica when the Concacaf Men's Under-20 qualifiers are contested from February 23-March 4, 2026.

The draw for the Concacaf Under-20 qualifiers were conducted on November 6, with TT being placed in Group E alongside Barbados, Bermuda, Costa Rica and Sint Maarten. For the qualifiers, 32 Concacaf member nations have been split into two groups of six and four groups of five.

After round-robin play, the six group winners will advance to the 2026 Concacaf Under-20 Championship where they will join the six pre-seeded teams in: Cuba; Guatemala; Honduras; Mexico; Panama and the US. The 12-team Concacaf Under-20 Championship will be played from July 25-August 9 next year, with the teams being split into three groups of four. Aside from being Concacaf's qualifying tourney for the 2027 Under-20 World Cup, the championships will also serve as a qualifier for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

TT should face a stern challenge in Group E, as Costa Rica are likely to start as favourites for the qualifiers as they are one of the host nations along with Curacao and Nicaragua.

Prior to the draw, the teams were placed in six pots according to the Concacaf Under-20 men's rankings as of August 5, 2024. The teams in pot one were Canada, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti and Jamaica, while TT were placed in pot two.

At last year's Under-20 qualifiers, a Brian Haynes-coached TT team lost out in the first round as they finished runners-up to Canada in their qualifying group. At last year's Concacaf Under-20 Championship, Mexico were crowned champions.

2026 Concacaf Men's Under-20 qualifying groups:

Group A: Belize, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Saint Martin, Suriname.

Group B: Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St Kitts and Nevis, Turks and Caicos.

Group C: Antigua and Barbuda, BVI, Dominica, Dominican Republic, St Lucia.

Group D: Anguilla, Curacao, Guyana, Haiti, SVG.

Group E: Barbados, Bermuda, Costa Rica, Sint Maarten, TT.

Group F: Aruba, Canada, Martinique, Nicaragua, USVI.