2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship
# 2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship

The 2018 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship was the 6th edition of the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship (27th edition if all eras included), the men's under-20 international football tournament organized by CONCACAF. It was hosted at Bradenton, Florida, United States between 1–21 November 2018.

A new format was announced, removing the regional Central American and Caribbean qualifiers and guaranteeing each entrant a minimum of four competitive games.

The competition would determine the four CONCACAF representatives at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland, The United States, Mexico, Panama and Honduras qualified. It would also determine the CONCACAF teams playing at the 2019 Pan American Games men's football tournament in Lima, Peru.

The United States were the defending champions of the competition. They successfully defended their title as hosts, winning the final 2–0 against Mexico for their 2nd CONCACAF U-20 Championship title.

## Teams

Unlike previous tournament, there was no qualification for this edition, and a total of 34 teams (out of 41 CONCACAF members) directly entered the final tournament. Among them are all three members of the North American Football Union (NAFU), all seven members of the Central American Football Union (UNCAF), and 24 (out of 31) members of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU).

| Zone | Team | Appearance | Previous best performance | Previous FIFA U-20 World Cup appearances |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| NAFU | Canada | 23rd | Champions (1986, 1996) | 8 |
| NAFU | Mexico | 26th | Champions (1962, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1984, 1990, 1992, 2011, 2013, 2015) | 15 |
| NAFU | United States (title holders & hosts) | 24th | Champions (2017) | 15 |
| UNCAF | Belize | 2nd | First round (1994) | 0 |
| UNCAF | Costa Rica | 20th | Champions (1988, 2009) | 9 |
| UNCAF | El Salvador | 17th | Champions (1964) | 1 |
| UNCAF | Guatemala | 19th | Runners-up (1962, 1973) | 1 |
| UNCAF | Honduras | 19th | Champions (1982, 1994) | 7 |
| UNCAF | Nicaragua | 9th | Second round (1976) | 0 |
| UNCAF | Panama | 11th | Runners-up (2015) | 5 |
| CFU | Antigua and Barbuda | 4th | First round (1980, 1986, 2017) | 0 |
| CFU | Aruba | 2nd | First round (2015) | 0 |
| CFU | Barbados | 6th | First round (1976, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1990) | 0 |
| CFU | Bermuda | 13th | Second round (1974, 1980) | 0 |
| CFU | Cayman Islands | 1st | Debut | 0 |
| CFU | Cuba | 13th | Runners-up (1970, 1974) | 1 |
| CFU | Curaçao | 13th | Third place (1962) | 0 |
| CFU | Dominica | 1st | Debut | 0 |
| CFU | Dominican Republic | 5th | Second round (1976) | 0 |
| CFU | Grenada | 4th | First round (1978, 1980, 1990) | 0 |
| CFU | Guadeloupe | 3rd | First round (1992, 2011) | 0 |
| CFU | Guyana | 3rd | Second round (1984) | 0 |
| CFU | Haiti | 9th | Second round (1978) | 0 |
| CFU | Jamaica | 20th | Third place (1970) | 1 |
| CFU | Martinique | 3rd | First round (1994, 1996) | 0 |
| CFU | Puerto Rico | 8th | First round (1974, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 2013) | 0 |
| CFU | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 3rd | First round (2007, 2017) | 0 |
| CFU | Saint Lucia | 1st | Debut | 0 |
| CFU | Saint Martin | 1st | Debut | 0 |
| CFU | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 1st | Debut | 0 |
| CFU | Sint Maarten | 1st | Debut | 0 |
| CFU | Suriname | 6th | First round (1976, 1980, 1986, 1990, 2011) | 0 |
| CFU | Trinidad and Tobago | 20th | Runners-up (1990) | 2 |
| CFU | U.S. Virgin Islands | 1st | Debut | 0 |

### Notes

* ↑ Includes appearances as the Netherlands Antilles.
* 1 2 3 4 Non-FIFA members and thus ineligible to play in the qualification stage.

### Did not enter

* Anguilla
* Bahamas
* Bonaire
* British Virgin Islands
* French Guiana
* Montserrat (withdrew)
* Turks and Caicos Islands

## Venues

Matches were at played at four stadiums in the IMG Academy:

* IMG Academy Stadium
* IMG Soccer Stadium
* IMG Soccer Complex Field #2
* IMG Soccer Complex Field #11
* Bradenton, Florida
* IMG Academy
* 27°26′27″N 82°36′29″W﻿ / ﻿27.4409°N 82.6081°W﻿ / 27.4409; -82.6081﻿ (IMG Academy)
* Capacity: 5,000

## Draw

The draw for the final tournament was held on 13 September 2018, 10:00 EDT (UTC−4), at the CONCACAF Headquarters in Miami. Based on the CONCACAF Men's Under-20 Ranking, the top six ranked teams were seeded into position one of each group, while the remaining 28 teams were distributed in five pots as follows:

| Seeded teams | Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 | Pot 5 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| United States (A1)  Mexico (B1)  Honduras (C1)  Panama (D1)  Costa Rica (E1)  El Salvador (F1) | Cuba  Guatemala  Trinidad and Tobago  Haiti  Canada  Jamaica | Antigua and Barbuda  Bermuda  Saint Kitts and Nevis  Curaçao  Aruba  Suriname | Nicaragua  Dominican Republic  Puerto Rico  Guadeloupe  Saint Lucia  Guyana | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  Grenada  Cayman Islands  Barbados  Belize  Dominica | U.S. Virgin Islands  Martinique  Sint Maarten  Saint Martin |

The 34 teams were drawn into six groups: four groups of six teams and two groups of five teams. The winners from each group in the group stage advance to the qualification stage, where the six teams are divided into two groups of three teams (winners of Groups A, C and E in one group, winners of Groups B, D and F in another group). The top two teams from each group in the qualification stage qualify for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, with the group winners also advancing to the final to decide the champions of the CONCACAF U-20 Championship.

## Squads

Players born on or after 1 January 1999 are eligible to compete. Each team must submit a provisional 35-player roster (4 must be goalkeepers) and a final 20-player roster (2 must be goalkeepers). After the completion of the group stage, a team advancing to the qualification stage may replace up to six players with those from the provisional roster.

## Group stage

The winners of each group in the group stage advance to the qualification stage. If the winners of a group is a non-FIFA member, the highest-ranked FIFA member in the group advances to the qualification stage (Regulations Article 12.9).

### Tiebreakers (both group stage and qualification stage)

Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). The rankings of teams in each group are determined as follows (regulations Articles 12.5 and 12.8):

* points obtained in all group matches;
* goal difference in all group matches;
* number of goals scored in all group matches;

If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings are determined as follows:

* points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
* goal difference in the group matches between the teams concerned;
* number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
* fair play points in all group matches: first yellow card: minus 1 point;indirect red card (second yellow card): minus 3 points;direct red card: minus 4 points;yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points;
* drawing of lots by CONCACAF.

All times are local, EDT (UTC−4) up to 3 November, EST (UTC−5) starting 4 November.

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | United States (H) | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 2 | +37 | 15 | Qualification stage |
| 2 | Suriname | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 12 | +6 | 9 | |
| 3 | Puerto Rico | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 15 | +1 | 9 | |
| 4 | Trinidad and Tobago | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 11 | +1 | 9 | |
| 5 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 15 | −7 | 3 | |
| 6 | U.S. Virgin Islands | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 40 | −38 | 0 | |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Mexico | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 2 | +29 | 13 | Qualification stage |
| 2 | Jamaica | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 3 | +21 | 13 | |
| 3 | Grenada | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 14 | −7 | 6 | |
| 4 | Nicaragua | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 13 | −9 | 6 | |
| 5 | Aruba | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 20 | −14 | 4 | |
| 6 | Saint Martin | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 23 | −20 | 1 | |

* ↑ Non-FIFA members and thus ineligible to play in the qualification stage.

### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Honduras | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 5 | +25 | 15 | Qualification stage |
| 2 | Cuba | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 5 | +14 | 12 | |
| 3 | Dominican Republic | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 23 | 10 | +13 | 9 | |
| 4 | Antigua and Barbuda | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 11 | −1 | 6 | |
| 5 | Belize | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 19 | −14 | 3 | |
| 6 | Sint Maarten | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 41 | −37 | 0 | |

* ↑ Non-FIFA members and thus ineligible to play in the qualification stage.

### Group D

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Panama | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 3 | +14 | 15 | Qualification stage |
| 2 | Canada | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 9 | |
| 3 | Guadeloupe | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 9 | |
| 4 | Dominica | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 14 | −9 | 6 | |
| 5 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 10 | −3 | 3 | |
| 6 | Martinique | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 11 | −7 | 3 | |

* 1 2 Non-FIFA members and thus ineligible to play in the qualification stage.

### Group E

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Costa Rica | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | +14 | 12 | Qualification stage |
| 2 | Haiti | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 9 | |
| 3 | Saint Lucia | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 6 | |
| 4 | Barbados | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 1 | |
| 5 | Bermuda | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 10 | −10 | 1 | |

### Group F

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | El Salvador | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 9 | Qualification stage |
| 2 | Guatemala | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 5 | +5 | 7 | |
| 3 | Curaçao | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 6 | |
| 4 | Cayman Islands | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 11 | −3 | 4 | |
| 5 | Guyana | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 11 | −4 | 3 | |

## Qualification stage

The top two teams of each group in the qualification stage qualify for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, with the winners of each group also advancing to the final to decide the champions of the CONCACAF U-20 Championship.

### Group G

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | United States (H) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 6 | Final and 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup |
| 2 | Honduras | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 1 | 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup |
| 3 | Costa Rica | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 1 | |

### Group H

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Mexico | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 | Final and 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup |
| 2 | Panama | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 | 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup |
| 3 | El Salvador | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 0 | |

* 1 2 Fair play points: Mexico −1, Panama −2.

## Final

In the final, if the match is level at the end of 90 minutes, extra time is played, and if still tied after extra time, the match is decided by a penalty shoot-out (Regulations Article 12.10).

## Awards

### Winners

* 2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship winners
* United States Second title

### Individual awards

The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament.

| Award | Player |
| - | - |
| Golden Ball | Alex Méndez |
| Golden Boot | José Juan Macías (10 goals) |
| Golden Glove | Brady Scott |
| Fair Play Award | Mexico |

## Goalscorers

There were 397 goals scored in 87 matches, for an average of 4.56 goals per match.

10 goals

* José Juan Macías

8 goals

* Alexis Méndez

7 goals

* Josué Villafranca
* Daniel López
* Jaden Servania
* Ayo Akinola
* Ulysses Llanez

6 goals

* Erick Japa
* Luther Archimède
* Nicque Daley

5 goals

* Geobel Pérez
* Ronaldo Vásquez
* Luis Palma

4 goals

* Zayn Hakeem
* Jamie Parillon
* Gerard Lavergne
* Cristian Cálix
* Carlos Mejía
* Tevin Rochester
* Jamoi Topey
* Saed Díaz
* Diego Valanta
* Brian Elshot
* Alvaro Verwey
* Isaiah Lee
* Anthony Fontana
* Justin Rennicks
* Juan Torres

3 goals

* Glenbert Croes
* Noble Okello
* Kareem Foster
* Ronaldo Araya
* Rolando Oviendo
* Jean Carlos Rodríguez
* Juan Ángeles
* Juanca
* Jesron Charles
* Rudy Barrientos
* Kelsey Benjamin
* Bicou Bissainthe
* Selvin Guevara
* Leonardo Jibbison
* Tyreek Magee
* Ricardo McIntosh
* Diego Hernández
* Edgar López
* Axel McKenzie
* Ángel Orelien
* Alejandro Rabell
* Tyrese Shade
* Trezine Da Souza
* Gidson Francis
* Jaeremi Drijvers
* Mark McKenzie
* Paxton Pomykal

2 goals

* TJ Bramble
* Keon Greene
* Keano Maduro
* Carlos Gonzalez
* Andrés Gómez
* Carlos Villegas
* Christian Flores
* Rivaldo Ibarra
* Gianni Vandepitte
* Jaron Vicario
* Siliazar Henríquez
* Rahim Stephen
* Óscar Santis
* Thair Britton
* Naël Élysée
* Éverson López
* César Romero
* Axel Raphael
* Bryan Henriol
* Alexis Gutiérrez
* Efraín Orona
* Gilberto Sepúlveda
* Ernesto Walker
* Kevin Hernández
* Kevin Montañez
* Romario Martin
* Trivis Fraser
* Rievaldo Doorson
* Roscello Vlijter
* Brandon Servania

1 goal

* Javorn Benjamin
* Akeem Isaac
* Ray Francis
* Dion Cacho
* Jonard Castillo
* Andir Chi
* Theo Bair
* Clément Bayiha
* Mathieu Choinière
* José Hernández
* Jordan Perruzza
* Adonijah Reid
* Steffen Yeates
* Jabari Campbell
* Alexander Clarke-Ramirez
* Mason Duval
* Albertini Holness
* Kion Parchmont
* Josué Abarca
* Walter Cortés
* Alexis Gamboa
* Diego Mesén
* Jurguens Montenegro
* Joshua Navarro
* Rashir Parkins
* Andy Reyes
* Frank Nodarse
* José Pérez
* Omar Pérez
* Yandri Romero
* Carlito Fermina
* Giorney Rojer
* Meghon Valpoort
* Luchenthly Vrutaal
* Reon Cuffy
* Brian López
* Sergio Paredes
* Fernando Clavel
* Jorge Cruz
* José Portillo
* Cristian Rosales
* Gerson Sánchez
* Leon Braveboy
* Dorrel Pierre
* Mathis Bapaume
* Dylan Laug
* Edrick Virginie-Jovial
* Carlos Alvarado
* José Ardon
* Nery Cifuentes
* Óscar Mejía
* Edin Rivas
* Jeremy Garrett
* Chris Macey
* Antonio Borgelin
* Ronaldo Damus
* Delentz Pierre
* McJeffrey Pierre
* Gerson Chávez
* Mariano Álvarez
* Elison Rivas
* Mikel Santos
* Maliek Howell
* Kevin Álvarez
* Misael Domínguez
* Carlos Gutiérrez
* Adrián Lozano
* Estarling Acuña
* Alexander Caldera
* Eliam Palacios
* Maikell Díaz
* Carlos Kirton
* Jesús West
* Luis Miguel Cosme
* Gerald Díaz
* Esquick Nicholls
* Dijhorn Simmonds
* Nangee Philip
* Sebastin Ribot
* Aaron Richard
* Akim Arrondell
* Nolan Freyer
* Isais Pagesy
* Leonidas Zion
* Shaquille Cairo
* Ayad Godlieb
* Ferando Hoepel
* Jamilhio Rigters
* Gleofilo Vlijter
* Mgwenze Vola
* Che Benny
* Jabarry Francis
* Judah Garcia
* Nickel Orr
* Jaydon Prowell
* Mark Ramdeen
* John-Paul Rochford
* Kerdell Sween
* Griffin Dorsey
* Emanuel Perez
* Rakeem Joseph
* Ramesses McGuiness

1 own goal

* Mark Jacobs (against Nicaragua)
* Chad Phillip (against Aruba)
* Carlos Alvarado (against Curaçao)
* Cecil Jackman (against Curaçao)
* Javain Brown (against Mexico)
* Jean-Claude Michalet (against Panama)
* Nicolás Cardona (against United States)
* Justin Homer (against United States)

## Qualification for international tournaments

### Qualified teams for FIFA U-20 World Cup

The following four teams from CONCACAF qualify for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

| Team | Qualified on | Previous appearances in FIFA U-20 World Cup |
| - | - | - |
| Mexico | 16 November 2018 | 15 (1977, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1991, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017) |
| Panama | 16 November 2018 | 5 (2003, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2015) |
| United States | 16 November 2018 | 15 (1981, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2017) |
| Honduras | 19 November 2018 | 7 (1977, 1995, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2015, 2017) |

    $^1$ Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

### Qualified teams for Pan American Games

The tournament was used to determine the four teams from CONCACAF which would qualify for the 2019 Pan American Games men's football tournament. The top team from each of the three zones, i.e., Caribbean (CFU), Central American (UNCAF), and North American (NAFU), would qualify, with the fourth team to be determined by CONCACAF at a later date. However, United States declined to participate, so Mexico qualified for the North American berth.

| Team | Zone | Qualified on | Previous appearances in Pan American Games |
| - | - | - | - |
| Jamaica | CFU | 10 November 2018 | 4 (1971, 1975, 1999, 2007) |
| Panama | UNCAF | 19 November 2018 | 1 (2015) |
| Mexico | NAFU | 2019 (confirmed by CONCACAF) | 14 (1955, 1959, 1967, 1971, 1975, 1983, 1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015) |
| Honduras | UNCAF | 2019 (confirmed by CONCACAF) | 4 (1991, 1995, 1999, 2007) |

    $^2$ Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

## Controversy

### Cuban defectors

Twelve of the Cuban players (Arturo Hector Godoy, Bruno Manuel Rendon Cardoso, Christopher Yoel Llorente Fernandez, Danny Echeverria Diaz Frank Leidam Nodarse Chavez, Geobel Perez Oquendo, Josue Vega Alvarez, Juan Manuel Andreus Milanes, Omar Perez Ramirez Omar Proenza Calderon, Rivaldo Ibarra Thompson, Rolando Aldahir Oviendo Valdez and Yandri Romero Clark.) opted to stay in United States following the team's exit from the competition.

### Visa issues

Octavio Rodríguez, the assistant coach of the Guatemalan staff team and four players; Carlos Orellana (Guastatoya), Carlos Monterroso (Municipal), Nelso Iván García (Communications) and Luis Francisco Estrada (Siquinalá) were denied visas to participate in the tournament. A further seven players from Honduras were also denied visas.

