USA schedule set for CONCACAF Women’s U-17 Championship
CHICAGO (Via U.S. Soccer) – The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football conducted the final draw for the upcoming 2018 CONCACAF Women’s U-17 Championship, and the United States will face Canada, Costa Rica and Bermuda in Group B play.
The USA opens the tournament on April 20 against Costa Rica, faces Bermuda on April 22 and will play Canada on April 24 in the Group B finale.
All of the USA’s group matches kickoff at 10 p.m. ET (8 p.m. local). The semifinal matches are scheduled for April 27 with the Championship and Third-Place match to take place on April 29.
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2018 CONCACAF U-17 Women’s Championship
USA’s Group B Schedule
| Date | Match | Kickoff (ET) | Venue |
| April 20 | USA vs. Costa Rica | 10 p.m. | National Stadium; Managua, Nicaragua |
| April 22 | USA vs. Bermuda | 10 p.m. | National Stadium; Managua, Nicaragua |
| April 24 | USA vs. Canada | 10 p.m. | National Stadium; Managua, Nicaragua |
The match against Bermuda marks the first time a U.S. Women’s National Team has played the island nation at any level. These will also be the first U.S. WNT matches at any age level played in Nicaragua.
“It’s great to know our opponents in Managua as we’ve been waiting for the chance to qualify for the 2018 Under-17 Women’s World Cup for a long time,” said U.S. head coach Mark Carr, who has coached the core of the U.S. team since the U-15 level. “After seeing the pathway for the U-20s, we know that there will be no guarantees as every opponent will make it hard for us. There is an opportunity for three teams from eight to qualify for the World Cup and everyone wants to go to Uruguay just as badly as us. Our challenge will be to bring our best every game.”
The draw, which was held at the CONCACAF headquarters in Miami, also placed the hosts in Group A with Mexico, Haiti and Puerto Rico. As host, Nicaragua was seeded into Group A while the defending tournament champion USA was seeded atop Group B.
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Estadio Nacional in the capital of Managua will be the venue for all sixteen tournament matches played across eight matchdays.
After round-robin play within the groups, the top two finishers in each group will cross-over for the semifinals with the winners of those games, along the winner of the third-place match, earning berths to the 2018 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup to be held from Nov. 13-Dec. 1 in Uruguay.
“Of course, the draw gives us more focus, but ultimately, it will be about how we prepare, perform and execute that will determine if we achieve our goals,” said Carr. “I know our team will be prepared, focused and ready to get going in Nicaragua.”
Just five teams have qualified for the 2018 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup so far, host Uruguay plus Japan, Korea Republic and Korea DPR, which earned their berths by finishing as the top three teams at the AFC U-16 Women’s Championship last September in Thailand, as well as New Zealand from Oceania. The remaining 11 nations will qualify over the course of this year.
