TT, Cuba to decide Under-20 football spot

NEW YORK: As Trinidad and Tobago and Cuba await their deciding clash, CONCACAF have  unveiled the fixtures for Group “A” of the Under-20 Final Round Qualification that will take place at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California USA from January 12-16 next year.  Trinidad and Tobago, who qualified for the 1991 World Youth (Under-20) Finals in Portugal, will tackle Cuba on November 26 in Havana, and at home on December 10 to decide on the Caribbean Zone Series One winner for that final CONCACAF Group “A” spot. In Portugal 13 years ago, TT, with Dwight Yorke in their line-up, had finished bottom of the Group “C” preliminaries, after losing to Australia (0-2), Egypt (0-6) and Russia (0-4).

The USA, hosting their third CONCACAF Under-20 Quali-fying event, will welcome Costa Rica, Panama and Caribbean Zone Series One Winner (Cuba or Trinidad and Tobago) for Group “A” that will qualify two teams to the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in Netherlands. The other two CONCACAF representatives to the FIFA tournament will come from CONCACAF Under-20 Group “B”, as Canada, Jamaica, Mexico and the hosts, Honduras compete in Tegucigalpa from January 26-30 next year. Like Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica will be seeking their second entry to the FIFA World Youth Finals, after making the trip to Argentina in 2001 where they held eventual semi-finalists Egypt to a 0-0 draw, before losing their other first round matches in Group “A” to champions Argentina (1-5), and Finland (0-1). The CONCACAF Under-20 Group “A” begins on January 12, when Costa Rica meet Panama, while the USA face Cuba/Trinidad and Tobago. (CMC)