Bermuda's under-23 soccer players fly out to Panama on Sunday for what will be a tough, if not quite impossible mission.

Head coach Mark Trott's team will be pitted into three-nation group with Cuba and Panama -- and will need to finish top to advance.

The 18-man squad named yesterday includes five players who took part in the 9-0 demolition of the BVI in the World Cup -- Thomas Carter, John Barry Nusum, Tokia Russell, Rohaan Simons and Steve Astwood.

Bermuda will play both their matches in the Rommel Fernandez National Stadium in Panama City, first against the host nation next Wednesday and then against Cuba on Friday.

Trott conceded that it would be "a challenging task'' for his players but he had faith in their ability to succeed.

"They are good enough -- if they pay attention to what Dennis (Brown) and I ask of them and put it into practice,'' said Trott.

"We have done the best we can in training, bearing in mind that three-quarters of our team is away in college.'' The youngsters are likely to encounter a hostile atmosphere for their first game against Panama when around 10-15,000 fans are expected to cheer on the hosts.

Most of the players have never performed in front of a crowd of that size, but Trott had no worries about them being fazed.

"When you look at guys like Jemeiko Jennings, John Barry Nusum, Kofi Dill and Steve Astwood, I would say they are the kind who will rise to the occasion in front of that type of crowd,'' said Trott.

"We have been working hard at getting them prepared mentally to deal with the kind of distractions you get when you play away from home.'' As for the opposition, the coach felt that Panama and Cuba would be of a similar standard to the well organised college teams the under-23s played on their tour of Florida in February.

"I suspect both teams will be very fit and we will have to work hard to match them at that,'' said Trott.

"But we have a lot of young talent and at the under-23 level we can be a handful for a lot of teams.'' One player who performed well in Florida, but has been forced to miss the trip to Panama is Tori Davis.

Trott explained: "Tori was injured playing for Wolves and he suffered some ligament damage. It's a shame he can't make it.

"There are other good players we have left behind, like Jelani Scott, Kevin Richards and Chae Simmons. We had to pick a squad to do the job and pick the players to fit in with the system.

"Just because they are not in this squad doesn't mean they will not be in our plans if we progress to Pennsylvania.'' To win the group, Bermuda would be likely to need a win and a draw. And if they did, they would adavance to the next qualifying phase, a group of four in Hershey, Pennsylvania between April 21-30.

That would clash with Bermuda's World Cup second-round qualifier at home to Antigua on April 23, causing a headcahe for the national coaches because several players are in both the senior and under-23 teams.

In Hershey, they would meet Guatemala and either Mexico, Honduras, Jamaica or Costa Rica.

Second place in that group would suffice to send them through to the semi-finals and a chance to qualify for the Sydney games in October.

Bermuda under-23 squad: Jay Smith, Nigel Burgess, Joey Rego, David Thomas, Kofi Dill, Jamal Warren, Thomas Carter, Tokia Russell, John Barry Nusum, Keith Jennings, Cory Dowling, Damon Ming, Rohaan Simons, Adam Outerbridge, Steve Astwood, Jameiko Jennings, Blenn Bean, Jamaul Boyles. Coaches: Mark Trott, Dennis Brown.

Goal hunters: Bermuda World Cup heroes Steve Astwood (left) and Rohaan Simons, who will be searching for more glory with the under-23 team in next week's Olympic qualifying tournament in Panama.