SHELTON AND TAYLORHOSTS HONDURAS will be Jamaica's first opponents in the final round of the CONCACAF Under-20 World Youth Championships next month.
The young Reggae Boyz face off with the Central Americans on January 26 in the Group B opener at the Francisco Morazan stadium. On that same day, the other two teams in the group Canada and Mexico will meet at the same venue.
On January 28, the fourth anniversary of the death of Steven 'Shorty' Malcolm, the Wendell Downswell-coached Boyz will face Mexico before focusing their attention on the final game against Canada on January 30.
Meanwhile, Group A which sees Caribbean team Trinidad and Tobago competing against the United States, Panama and Costa Rica, will begin qualifying action on January 12 and will end on January 16. These qualifiers are set for the Home Depot Centre in Carson, California.
Trinidad and Tobago will first play the U.S. on January 12, then Costa Rica on January 14 and Panama onJanuary 16.
The top two teams from each group will progress to the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands which will be held between June 10 to July 2.
Jamaica, like Trinidad and Tobago, are seeking their second berth at the World Under-20 tournament, having qualified for the 2001 Championships in Argentina. Trinidad and Tobago played in the 1989 finals in Portugal.
In preparation for the tournament, coach Downsell and the Jamaica Football Federation have sought to give as much exposure as possible to the young available talents.
In fact, they drafted and are playing several Under-20 players in the senior national squad that is contesting the Digicel Caribbean Cup and vying for a place in CONCACAF Gold Cup.
The players, Luton Shelton, Akeem Priestly, goalkeeper Ryan Thompson, Mario Harrison, Adrian Reid and Jermaine Taylor, are expected, according to Downsell, "to learn and take the international experience gained into the qualifiers".
