Concacaf U20 Champs: Boyz face tough USA in opener

The Under-20 Reggae Boyz will face a tough opening game in the Concacaf Men's Under-20 Championships as they face the United States today at the Miguel Aleman Valdez Stadium in Mexico at 9 p.m. (Jamaica time).

The Reggae Boyz are drawn in Group A alongside USA, Costa Rica and Cuba.

This year marks Jamaica's 21st appearance at the age-group tournament and the team will be hoping to start their campaign with a win.

History will not be on the side of the Boyz, however, who are yet to beat the USA in this tournament.

The two nations have faced each other eight times since the inaugural edition of tournament in 1962, with Jamaica's best result being a 1-1 draw in 1964.

Since then, the USA have led the head-to-head results with six wins and two draws.

Their last two meetings came at the 2015 edition of the tournament where USA ran out 2-0 winners, with the other meeting back in 2009 ending in a 3-0 defeat for the Boyz.

The Boyz will be depending on a mostly local squad to face the North American giants today with several players having cut their teeth in the Wray and Nephew-sponsored Jamaica Premier League (JPL).

Listed among the squad is recent senior Reggae Boy call-up Adrian Reid Jr.

The squad also includes several overseas-based players such as former schoolboy standouts Romain Blakes now at Chicago Fire and Alexander Bicknell of Portuguese outfit Leixoes SC.

Fabian Reynolds of Wolverhampton Wanderers makes his return to the squad after his exploits at the Concacaf Men's Under-20 Qualifiers where his goal against Bermuda helped the Boyz secure qualification to the tournament.

The top two teams, along with the best two third-placed teams, will advance to the quarterfinals.

The top four teams from the competition will then qualify for the 2025 FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Chile.