Oh, and there’s a schedule change, too.
So, it seems that CONCACAF has quietly pushed back the start of this year’s CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship a week, so that the tournament now starts on February 22nd, instead of February 15th.
That detail went unhighlighted in a January 13th article posted on CONCACAF.com, titled “Concacaf Announces Changes to the 2020 Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship,” which confirmed that the co-hosts of this year’s FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup, Costa Rica and Panama, would both have automatic bids, and, alas, that only two at-large qualifications slots would be available for the rest of CONCACAF.
Apparently, this announcement was not sent out via CONCACAF’s press release email list. (In other words, I cannot find it in my Gmail.) Additionally, this announcement does not show on CONCACAF’s “News” page for the qualifying tournament, as it was not properly tagged on the website. (Instead of “2020 Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship“, the tag was just “2020 Concacaf Women“.)
The “Schedule & Results” tab for the tournament has the updated dates for matches, as well as some other notable changes, such as a lack of a Third-Place match.
For analysis and commentary on the January 13th pronouncement regarding the reduction in qualification slots, see: CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship: Subtraction Through Addition.
The rest of this post is an updated and simplified version of the original article discussing the draw and schedule.
The last sections include the Group Stage and Knock-Out Rounds schedule, which now have confirmed start times and venues.
TOURNAMENT DETAILS
Dates: February 22, 2020 to March 8, 2020
(previously February 15th to March 1st)
Host: Dominican Republic
Host Time Zone: Atlantic Standard Time (1 hour ahead of New York City)
Television Coverage: Not Yet Known (at a minimum, all matches should be live-streamed, e.g., via YouTube)
Venues: Estadio Olímpico Félix Sánchez (Santo Domingo), Estadio Panamericano, (San Cristóbal)
Built in the early 1970s, Estadio Olímpico Félix Sánchez is a traditional track and field stadium with a grass pitch inside its running track. It is located in Santa Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. (Google Maps link for location and photos) The stadium has a full bowl with a seating capacity of 27,000.
The secondary facility, Estadio Panamericano, was built in 2003 and is located in San Cristóbal, which is just west of Santo Domingo. (Google Maps link for location and photos) Estadio Panamericano has a seating capacity of 2,800 with one main stand. Based on photos, the condition of the turf may be less than desirable (brown and/or worn spots).
Both stadiums have permanent lights, so night matches at each facility are possible. The two stadiums will both host group and knock-out matches, up to the quarterfinals. The semifinal matches, third-place match, and final will be contested only at Estadio Olímpico.
Expected Weather: Santo Domingo, February Climate Averages (Wikipedia)
- High Temperature: 85.3° Fahrenheit
- Low Temperature: 68.4° F
- Relative Humidity: 80.8%
- Monthly Rain Total: 2.12 inches
- Rainy Days: 5.9
Or, in other words, hot and humid. At the average high temperature (85° F and average relative humidity (81%), the NOAA Heat Index would be 94° F in the shade, and could hit 100° F in direct sunlight. (Wikipedia) So, it is very possible that some daytime matches could have water breaks.
Sunset: During the tournament, sunset will be roughly 6:43 to 6:48 p.m. local time. (TimeAndDate.com)
QUALIFIED TEAMS
As noted earlier, 16 teams qualified directly to the final knock-out stage, based on CONCACAF’s Rankings. Back in April 2019, those 16 teams were drawn into 4 groups of 4 (CONCACAF.com).
The Draw Pots:
- Pot 1: United States (C1), Mexico (D1), Canada (E1), Haiti (F1)
- Pot 2:
Costa Rica, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Honduras - Pot 3: Guatemala,
Panama, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic - Pot 4: El Salvador, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands
The Groups:
- Group C: United States, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Cuba
- Group D: Mexico,
Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Guyana
- Group E: Canada, Jamaica, Guatemala, El Salvador
- Group F: Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago,
Panama, Cayman Islands, Saint Kitts & Nevis
Beyond the above Top Sixteen teams, ten other teams (out of 25) entered the preliminary qualification round. Those teams were divided into two groups of five teams (designated “A” and “B”). The top two teams in each of those groups advanced automatically to the final knock-out phase. Those four teams were Grenada, Guyana, Saint Kitts & Nevis, and Saint Lucia. Bermuda and Barbados, which both finished second in their regional qualifying groups, replaced Guyana and Saint Kitts & Nevis, respectively.
GROUP STAGE MATCH SCHEDULE
CORRECTION (04-FEB-2020): In the below schedule, group letters for Mexico’s and Canada’s groups were reversed. The schedule now shows the correct letters.
All Group C (United States) and Group D (Mexico) matches will be held at Estadio Olímpico. All Group E (Canada) and Group F (Haiti) will be played at Estadio Panamericano.
Note that Groups “C” and “D” do not play their matches on the same day, rather it is “C” and “E” on odd days, with “D” and “F” on even days.
All times are Eastern (ET).
Saturday, February 22nd
Jamaica vs. Guatemala (Group E) – 12:00 PM
United States vs. Cuba (Group C) – 3:00 PM
Canada vs. El Salvador (Group E) – 3:00 PM
Honduras vs. Dominican Republic (Group C) – 6:00 PM
Sunday, February 23rd
Trinidad and Tobago vs. St. Kitts & Nevis (Group F) – 12:00 PM
Mexico vs. Puerto Rico (Group D) – 3:00 PM
Haiti vs. Cayman Islands (Group F) – 3:00 PM
Guyana vs. Nicaragua (Group D) – 6:00 PM
Monday, February 24th
El Salvador vs. Jamaica (Group E) – 12:00 PM
United States vs. Dominican Republic (Group C) – 3:00 PM
Canada vs. Guatemala (Group E) – 3:00 PM
Cuba vs. Honduras (Group C) – 6:00 PM
Tuesday, February 25th
Cayman Islands vs. Trinidad and Tobago (Group F) – 12:00 PM
Puerto Rico vs. Guyana (Group D) – 3:00 PM
St. Kitts & Nevis vs. Haiti (Group F) – 3:00 PM
Mexico vs. Nicaragua (Group D) – 6:00 PM
Wednesday, February 26th
Guatemala vs. El Salvador (Group E) – 12:00 PM
Dominican Republic vs. Cuba (Group C) – 3:00 PM
Canada vs. Jamaica (Group E) – 3:00 PM
United States vs. Honduras (Group C) – 6:00 PM
Thursday, February 27th
St. Kitts & Nevis vs. Cayman Islands (Group F) – 12:00 PM
Nicaragua vs. Puerto Rico (Group D) – 3:00 PM
Haiti vs. Trinidad and Tobago (Group F) – 3:00 PM
Mexico vs. Guyana (Group D) – 6:00 PM
KNOCKOUT STAGE MATCH SCHEDULE
Update (05-Feb-2020): Times have been added for all knockout matches. CONCACAF has posted a full schedule (PDF), complete with Eastern times for all matches.
The top three teams in each group advance to this stage, with the seeding based on their in-group ranking. The winner of each group will play one of the four teams that advanced from the preliminary qualification round.
Both venues will be used up through the Quarterfinals. The Semifinals and Finals will all be held at Estadio Olímpico.
Saturday, February 29th – Round of 16
Match 25: 1st, Group C vs. Saint Lucia – 2:00 PM
Match 26: 1st, Group E vs. Bermuda – 12:00 PM
Match 27: 2nd, Group C vs. 3rd, Group E – 6:00 PM
Match 28: 2nd, Group E vs. 3rd, Group C – 3:00 PM
Sunday, March 1st – Round of 16
Match 29: 1st, Group D vs. Grenada – 3:00 PM
Match 30: 1st, Group F vs. Barbados– 12:00 PM
Match 31: 2nd, Group D vs. 3rd Group F – 6:00 PM
Match 32: 2nd, Group F vs. 3rd Group D – 3:00 PM
(Match times are 12:00 PM, 3:00 PM x2, and 6:00 PM)
(two rest days – increased from one)
(teams that play on Saturday get an extra day of rest – no change)
Wednesday, March 4th – Quarterfinals
Match 33: Winner-M25 vs. Winner-M28 – 2:00 PM
Match 34: Winner-M26 vs. Winner-M27 – 12:00 PM
Match 35: Winner-M29 vs. Winner-M32 – 5:00 PM
Match 36: Winner-M30 vs. Winner-M31 – 3:00 PM
(one rest day – no change)
Friday, March 6th – Semifinals
Match 37: Winner-M33 vs. Winner-M34 – 2:00 PM
Match 38: Winner-M35 vs. Winner-M36 – 5:00 PM
(one rest day – decreased from two)
Sunday, March 8th – Final
Final: Semifinal Winners – 1:00 PM*
(The Third-Place Match has been eliminated.)
*Daylight Savings begins on the 8th.
Women's Soccer Express 