Honduras looking to make most of home soil in Group H

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MIAMI, Florida – The 2022 Concacaf Men’s Under-20 Championship kicks off on June 18 with Honduras looking to take full advantage of being on home soil in Group H.

The Catrachos are appearing in their 24^th CMU20 and would love to add a third title to their trophy cabinet after taking the top prize in 1982 and 1994, along with a runner-up finish recently in 2017.

An overall record of 72W-18D-28L, with 242 goals scored and 115 conceded, has yielded eight FIFA Men’s Under-20 World Cup berths, including in the last three in 2015, 2017 and 2019.

There has been no shortage of top performances from Honduras players in the CMU20, notably Josue Villafranca, who has seven career CMU20 goals, along with the four assists from Carlos Mejia in the 2018 edition.

Honduras will see a familiar foe in the group, as 1988 and 2009 CMU20 champions Costa Rica will also be looking to finish in the top spot.

The Ticos are making their 21^st appearance in the CMU20 and boast an impressive all-time record of 51W-17-D-21L, with 197 goals scored and 91 conceded.

The CMU20 always seems to be the stage in which a new star attacker emerges for Costa Rica, evidenced by the six career CMU20 goals scored by current Senior Team FW Joel Campbell at Guatemala 2011, tops among all players at that year’s tournament.

After missing out on Poland 2019, Costa Rica are hungry to return to the U20 World Cup for a 10^th time.

Jamaica will be another one of the teams looking to make Group H as competitive as possible, with the Reggae Boyz set to appear in their 21^st CMU20.

Jamaica possess an all-time CMU20 record of 15W-16D-38L, with 81 goals scored and 121 allowed. Nicque Daley’s six goals stand as the all-time leading goalscoring mark for Jamaica in the CMU20.

But the number one objective will be a return to the U20 World Cup, which would be Jamaica’s first since 2001.

Completing the group is another Caribbean side, Antigua and Barbuda, who are in the CMU20 for a third consecutive time and fourth overall.

Antigua and Barbuda’s two CMU20 wins came in the last edition in 2018 when they defeated Sint Maarten 6-1 and Belize 1-0, thanks in part to Zayn Hakeem’s four goals.

This year’s group of Benna Boys will hope to take it to another level and deliver a first ever U20 World Cup to the nation.