Head coach Vance Brown has warned his Bermuda squad they will need to “push beyond their limits” as they begin the first stage of qualification for next year’s Under-20 Women’s World Cup.

The 20-player squad are preparing to kick off their Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Qualifiers in Nicaragua, where they will face three Group E matches in the space of five days at the Estadio Nacional de Futbol in Managua, starting with Honduras ton Friday at 7pm before facing Jamaica on Sunday at 10pm and Anguilla at 7pm on Tuesday.

With only the six group winners progressing to the Concacaf Women's Under-20 Championship in Dominican Republic in May, Browne is well aware of the level of performance needed to prevail, particularly against a regional powerhouse such as Jamaica.

“We are anticipating tough games but we have put the work in and will be going into every game looking to be competitive and do the best that we possibly can,” he said.

“We all know what we are up against and what we have to do as a squad to compete against the bigger teams such as Jamaica.

“I think a lot has to do with how we prepare psychologically as much as it has to do with talent when we face bigger teams. In the past, both with the younger men’s and women’s teams, heads have dropped when it has got hard in games and so we have to be prepared to step up a level.

“That means going into these games with the right mindset and the players being prepared to do what it takes to go beyond their normal limits and to push that bit more.

“That’s the message I’m trying to get over to the players going into these matches, because to qualify we know we have to beat Jamaica as well as the other teams in our group.”

With a young squad made up of predominantly talented locally-based players, Brown feels the experience of the squad’s overseas based players such as Marli Butterfield, Zemira Webb, Chechulae Dowling and Breanna Medeiros, could prove vital.

“I feel we have a very strong squad and one that has a good mix of experience,” he added.

“While we have a lot of talent in the team, I definitely believe the experience of some of the college players overseas can be really important. They bring that different level of experience with them and that can only help to bring the best out of the locally-based players.”

With qualification to the next stage taking Bermuda one step closer to fulfilling their aspirations of reaching the World Cup, Brown hailed the significance of what progression would mean to the squad.

“Gaining qualification would mean so much to everyone,” he said. “Not only would it mean that we have won the group but it would also mean we have beaten some of the big teams in our region, which would be fantastic.

“Everyone in the squad has looked good in our training sessions, we have no injury concerns and they are all ready to go in that first game.”

Should Bermuda qualify, they will progress through the region’s new format for women’s youth competitions, beginning with an eight-team group stage played between Concacaf’s top eight teams, consisting of the top two ranked nations, United States and Mexico, and the six qualifying stage winners.

There, after round robin play, the top four teams, two from each group will advance to the competition’s knockout stage, consisting of the semi-finals, third-place play-off and final, with the top three finishers qualifying for next year’s Under-20 Women’s World Cup.