The Bermuda Under-20 team departed for Puerto Rico yesterday with hopes of securing a spot at the Concacaf Under-20 Championship in Honduras this summer.

Ray Jones’s team have been pitted in group D for the first-round qualifying stage alongside Barbados, Cayman Islands and the host nation.

Bermuda face Barbados in their opening match tomorrow at 4.30pm, Cayman Island on Friday and Puerto Rico on Sunday, with all matches taking place at the Juan Ramón Lubriel Stadium, San Juan.

Expectations are high for Bermuda, who have been seeded as the top team in their group, with coach Jones expressing optimism that his players will be equal to the task.

“I rate our chances of doing well pretty highly,” Jones said. “We definitely have every chance of achieving what we should be aiming to do.”

The eventual winner of group D will advance along with the winners of the remaining three first-round qualifying groups to the second-round group stage, featuring five-times Concacaf Under-20 champions Mexico.

The top three nations from each of the four groups during the second round group stage will then advance to the main tournament, which will take place from June 20 to July 5 in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

The Concacaf Under-20 Championship is a single match elimination format, with the semi-finalists qualifying to the Under-20 World Cup in Indonesia next year.

Bermuda are looking to qualify for the Concacaf Under-20 Championship for the third straight time having featured in the previous two tournaments held in Costa Rica and the United States in 2017 and 2018.

The island finished bottom of group E with one point after a goalless draw against Barbados at IMG Soccer Complex Field in Bradenton, Florida, in their previous appearance at the championship.

Bermuda have an overall record at the championship of nine wins, four draws and nine defeats.