US, Canada U-20s learn group draws for Concacaf U-20 Championship

The Under-20 national teams of the United States, Canada and the rest of the North American region learned their route to the World Cup on Thursday, as Concacaf held the draw for its qualifying tournament for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

This years Concacaf U-20 Championship will be hosted by the U.S., at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida over the first three weeks of November. The event will feature a new format, with 34 teams drawn into six groups of either five or six teams apiece.

After round-robin play, the six group winners will advance into a second round-robin stage featuring two three-team groups. The top four finishers in that phase will qualify for the U-20 World Cup, hosted by Poland next May and June, while the two group winners will face off in the tournament final to decide Concacafs U-20 champions.

The U.S. are the defending champs in this event, and Tab Ramos side have been drawn into Group A alongside Caribbean islanders Trinidad & Tobago, Puerto Rico, St. Vincent & the Grenadines and the U.S. Virgin Islands as well as Suriname, the Dutch-inflected nation on the northeast corner of the South American mainland.

Canada will compete in Group D, which also includes Panama, St. Kitts & Nevis, Guadeloupe, Dominica and Martinique.

Find more details about the Concacaf U-20 Championship, including a full explanation of the tournament format, on Concacaf.com.