A 20-member National U-17 shortlisted squad departed Guyana yesterday for Curacao to compete in the 2020 CONCACF Women’s Under-17 Championship first-round Qualifiers in Curacao, which began on August 17 and will conclude on August 25.

The squad comprises six international-based and 14 Guyana-based players including two Goalkeepers, five Defenders, eight Midfielders and five Forwards.

Head Coach of the National U-17 Women’s team, Akilah Castello said while some last-minute squad changes had to be made, individual technical and physical evaluations influenced the selection of the final 20.

“Continuous individual technical and physical assessments were done to arrive at the final squad. We believe that providing the girls are technical and physically prepared, we will have a better chance at managing tactical decisions one match at a time,” Castello said.

Guyana will play host Curacao in its first match, scheduled for tomorrow at 20:30hrs at the Stadion Ergilio Hato Willemstad and will face St Vincent and the Grenadines on August 23 at 18:00hrs, and the Bahamas on August 25 at 17:00hrs.

According to CONCACAF, there will be 32 participating teams. The qualifiers comprise the lowest-ranked 16 teams, based on the Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Ranking as of July 2018, where the top-finisher of each group will advance to the knock-out stage of the championship.

These teams are: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, Guyana, Honduras, Martinique, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines and the US Virgin Islands.

The remaining 16 teams, consisting of top-ranked teams, based on the Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Ranking as of July 2018, will participate in the Final Championship. Each has been placed in four groups – E, F, G and H – and will play round-robin following which “the top three finishers in each of the groups will join the winners of Groups A, B, C and D (from the qualifiers) in the round of 16,” according to CONCACF.

“The 16 teams participating in the group stage of the Final Championship are: Bermuda, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago and the United States.

The knockout stage of the competition — round of 16, quarterfinals, semi-finals and final — will be played in its entirety in a single match elimination format, with the finalists and third place finisher automatically qualifying for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2020.”