# 2024 CONCACAF U-20 Championship

The 2024 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship was the 8th edition of the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship (29th edition if all eras included), the men's under-20 international football tournament organized by CONCACAF. It was held in Mexico from 18 July to 4 August 2024.
The tournament featured a reduction in the number of participating teams following the format changes adopted by CONCACAF in February 2023. It was contested by 12 teams instead of the 20 that participated in previous editions.
Same as previous editions, the tournament acted as the CONCACAF qualifiers for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. The top four teams of the tournament (the four semi-finalists) qualified for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile as the CONCACAF representatives.
The United States were the three-time defending champions.

## Competition format

In February 2023, CONCACAF announced format changes for its youth competitions approved by its council. The following changes were adopted for the U-17 and U-20 Championships compared to previous editions:
* The number of teams automatically qualified for the final tournament was reduced to 6 from the 16 that previously qualified. These were the six top-ranked teams according to the CONCACAF Men's Under-20 Ranking while the teams ranked between 7 and 41 had to participate in qualifying stage.
* The Group stage will consist of three groups instead of the four groups that were previously played. This stage will include the six pre-seeded teams into this round and the six teams coming from the qualifying stage.
* The Round of 16 was removed from the knockout stage which will start directly with the quarter-finals.
The tournament is divided into two stages: the Group stage and the Knockout stage. The Group stage will feature twelve teams, including the six top-ranked teams that qualified directly and the six teams that qualified via the qualifying round. The twelve teams were split into three groups of four, and will compete in a single round-robin. Eight teams, the top two teams of each group and the two-best third-placed teams, will advance to the Knockout stage which will be played on a single-elimination format and will consist of the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final. The quarter-finals winners will advance to the semi-finals and will qualify for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup. The semi-finals winners will play the final to determine the champion.

## Host nation and venues

Mexico was appointed as the host country for the tournament by CONCACAF on 26 February 2024, with the Estadio Miguel Alemán Valdés in Celaya and the Estadio Sergio León Chávez in Irapuato, both located in the state of Guanajuato, as the two initial venues. After a police officer was killed outside of the Cuban team hotel on 24 July 2024, all further matches scheduled to be played in Celaya were moved to the Estadio León in León, also located in Guanajuato, and no further matches took place in Celaya.
| Celaya | Irapuato | León |
| Estadio Miguel Alemán Valdés | Estadio Sergio León Chávez | Estadio León |
| Capacity: 23,182 | Capacity: 25,000 | Capacity: 31,297 |

## Teams
### Qualification

The U-20 Championship qualifying features a new format approved by the CONCACAF Council in February 2023. The qualifying groups were increased to six instead the four qualifying groups from previous editions, with the six group winners qualifying for the final tournament.
A total of 27 (out of 41) CONCACAF national teams entered the qualifying round which took place from 23 February to 2 March 2024.
The six teams from the qualifying round joined the six top-ranked teams (based on the CONCACAF men’s under-20 rankings as of 12 June 2023) in the group stage of the final tournament for a total of 12 qualified teams.
Qualified teams :
| Team | Qualification | Appearances | Appearances | Previous best performance |
| Team | Qualification | Total | Last | Previous best performance |
| United States (title holders) | 1st ranked entrant | 26th | 2022 | Champions (2017, 2018, 2022) |
| Honduras | 2nd ranked entrant | 21st | 2022 | Champions (1982, 1994) |
| Mexico (hosts) | 3rd ranked entrant | 28th | 2022 | Champions (1962, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1984, 1990, 1992, 2011, 2013, 2015) |
| Panama | 4th ranked entrant | 13th | 2022 | Runners-up (2015) |
| Costa Rica | 5th ranked entrant | 22nd | 2022 | Champions (1988, 2009) |
| Dominican Republic | 6th ranked entrant | 7th | 2022 | Runners-up (2022) |
| Cuba | Qualifying Group A winner | 15th | 2022 | Runners-up (1970, 1974) |
| El Salvador | Qualifying Group B winner | 19th | 2022 | Champions (1964) |
| Guatemala | Qualifying Group C winner | 21st | 2022 | Runners-up (1962, 1973) |
| Canada | Qualifying Group D winner | 25th | 2022 | Champions (1986, 1996) |
| Haiti | Qualifying Group E winner | 11th | 2022 | Second round/Round of 16 (1978/2022) |
| Jamaica | Qualifying Group F winner | 22nd | 2022 | Third place (1970) |

### Squads

Each team was required to register a squad of up to 21 players, three of whom had to be goalkeepers. Players born between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2009 (ages 15 to 19) were eligible to compete in the tournament (Regulations Articles 9 and 10).

## Draw

The draw for the groups composition was held on 11 April 2024, 12:00 EDT (UTC−4), at the CONCACAF Headquarters in Miami, Florida, United States. The 12 involved teams were drawn into three groups of four. Prior to the draw, the 12 teams had been seeded into four pots of three based on the CONCACAF Men's Under-20 Ranking updated after the completion of the qualifying stage (as of 3 March 2024), with the six teams that entered directly into the group stage being placed into pots 1 and 2 and the six teams coming from the qualifying process being placed into pots 3 and 4.
Pot 1 :
| Rank | Team | Pts |
| 1 | United States | 4,897 |
| 2 | Honduras | 3,197 |
| 3 | Mexico | 2,794 |
Pot 2 :
| Rank | Team | Pts |
| 4 | Panama | 2,442 |
| 7 | Dominican Republic | 1,932 |
| 8 | Costa Rica | 1,779 |
Pot 3 :
| Rank | Team | Pts |
| 5 | Guatemala | 2,284 |
| 6 | El Salvador | 1,945 |
| 9 | Cuba | 1,692 |
Pot 4 :
| Rank | Team | Pts |
| 10 | Jamaica | 1,638 |
| 11 | Haiti | 1,609 |
| 12 | Canada | 1,589 |
The draw started with pot 1 and teams were placed in the first position of Groups A, B, and C according to the order they are drawn. The same procedure was followed to draw pots 2, 3 and 4, with pot 2 teams being placed in second position within their group, pot 3 teams in third position and pot 4 teams in fourth position.
The groups formed as a result of the draw were as follows:
Group A :
| Group A PosTeam A1 United States A2 Costa Rica A3 Cuba A4 Jamaica | Group B PosTeam B1 Honduras B2 Dominican Republic B3 El Salvador B4 Canada | Group C PosTeam C1 Mexico C2 Panama C3 Guatemala C4 Haiti |

## Group stage

The top two teams of each group and the two-best third-placed teams will advance to the quarter-finals.

### Tiebreakers

The ranking of teams in each group will be determined as follows (Regulations Article 12.7):
* Points obtained in all group matches (three points for a win, one for a draw, zero for a loss).
* Goal difference in all group matches.
* Number of goals scored in all group matches.
If two or more teams are still tied after applying the above criteria, their rankings will be determined as follows:
* Points obtained in matches played between the tied teams.
* Goal difference in matches played between the tied teams.
* Number of goals scored in matches played between the tied teams.
* Lower number of disciplinary points based on the number of yellow and red cards in all group matches, according the following additions:
** Yellow card: 1 point
** Indirect red card (second yellow card): 3 points
** Direct red card: 4 points
** Yellow card and direct red card: 5 points
* Drawing of lots.
The fixture list was confirmed by CONCACAF on 11 April 2024, after the draw. All kick-off times are local times, CST (UTC−6), and the Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4) are in parentheses, as listed by CONCACAF.

### Group A

Following the incident that led to the change of venue from Celaya to León, the third round matches in Group A were moved from July 25 to 26.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | United States | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | +14 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Costa Rica | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 4 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Cuba | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 4 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 4 | Jamaica | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 15 | −15 | 0 | |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Honduras | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Canada | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | El Salvador | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 3 | |
| 4 | Dominican Republic | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 0 | |

### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Mexico (H) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Panama | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Guatemala | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 4 | Haiti | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 12 | −10 | 0 | |
* 1 2 Disciplinary points: Mexico 4, Panama 5.

### Ranking of third-placed teams

| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | A | Cuba | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 4 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | C | Guatemala | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | B | El Salvador | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 3 | |

## Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, if a match is tied at the end of normal playing time, extra time will be played (two periods of 15 minutes each) followed, if necessary, by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winners (Regulations Article 12.11).

### Bracket

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Final | Final |
| 30 July – León | 30 July – León | | | |
| United States | 1 | | | |
| United States | 1 | 2 August – León | 2 August – León | | |
| Guatemala | 0 | 2 August – León | 2 August – León | |
| Guatemala | 0 | United States | 2 | |
| 30 July – León | 30 July – León | | United States | 2 | |
| 30 July – León | 30 July – León | Panama | 1 | |
| Panama (a.e.t.) | 2 | Panama | 1 | |
| Panama (a.e.t.) | 2 | | | | 4 August – León | 4 August – León |
| Canada | 1 | | | | 4 August – León | 4 August – León |
| Canada | 1 | | | | United States | 1 |
| 31 July – Irapuato | 31 July – Irapuato | | | | | United States | 1 |
| 31 July – Irapuato | 31 July – Irapuato | | | | Mexico (a.e.t.) | 2 |
| Honduras | 1 (3) | | | | Mexico (a.e.t.) | 2 |
| Honduras | 1 (3) | 2 August – León | 2 August – León | | | |
| Cuba (p) | 1 (5) | 2 August – León | 2 August – León | | | |
| Cuba (p) | 1 (5) | Cuba | 0 | | | |
| 31 July – Irapuato | 31 July – Irapuato | | Cuba | 0 | | | |
| 31 July – Irapuato | 31 July – Irapuato | Mexico | 2 | |
| Mexico | 2 | Mexico | 2 | |
| Costa Rica | 1 | | | |

### Quarter-finals

Winners qualify for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

### Final
## Goalscorers

There were 82 goals scored in 25 matches, for an average of 3.28 goals per match.
3 goals
* Santiago López
* Olger Escobar
* Anfronit Tatum
* Gustavo Herrera
* Rafael Mosquera
* David Vazquez
2 goals
* Claudio Montero
* Andy Rojas
* Samuel Rodríguez
* Bryan Destin
* Didier Paguada
* Mateo Levy
* Amaury Morales
* Diego Ochoa
* Nimfasha Berchimas
* Ruben Ramos
* Pedro Soma
* Niko Tsakiris
* Marcos Zambrano
1 goal
* Mataeo Bunbury
* Tavio Ciccarelli
* Myles Morgan
* Esteban Cruz
* Michael Camejo
* David Pérez
* Karel Pérez
* Elian Concepción
* Javier Roces
* Christopher Argueta
* Francis Castillo
* Nelson Díaz
* Marvin Ávila
* Matthew Evans
* Selvin Sagastume
* Jefry Martínez
* Dereck Moncada
* Roberto Osorto
* Justin Ponce
* Mathias Vásquez
* Ángel Villatoro
* Xavier Biscayzacú
* Stephano Carrillo
* Alexéi Domínguez
* Heriberto Jurado
* Francisco Méndez
* Yael Padilla
* Diego Sánchez
* Giovany Herber
* Aimar Modelo
* Allan Saldaña
* Kairo Walters
* Zavier Gozo
* Taha Habroune
* Ethan Kohler
* Cruz Medina
* Brooklyn Raines
1 own goal
* Diego Guardado (against Honduras)
Source: CONCACAF

## Qualified teams for FIFA U-20 World Cup

The following four teams from CONCACAF qualified for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile.
| Team | Qualified on | Previous appearances in FIFA U-20 World Cup |
| United States | 30 July 2024 | 17 (1981, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2023) |
| Panama | 30 July 2024 | 6 (2003, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019) |
| Mexico | 31 July 2024 | 16 (1977, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1991, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019) |
| Cuba | 31 July 2024 | 1 (2013) |