The 2022 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship was the 7th edition of the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship (28th edition if all eras included), the men's under-20 international football tournament organized by CONCACAF. It was held in Honduras, in the cities of San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa.

On 16 September 2021, a new format was announced: the sixteen member associations ranked 1st to 16th would qualify for the group stage while the remaining nineteen member associations (all ranked 17th and below in the CONCACAF men’s under-20 rankings) would have to play in the 2022 CONCACAF U-20 Championship qualifying tournament to qualify for the knockout stage. The qualifying tournament took place from 5 to 13 November 2021 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

The competition determined not only the four CONCACAF representatives at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina and at the 2023 Pan American Games men's football tournament in Chile, but also the two CONCACAF representatives at the 2024 Summer Olympics in France.

The United States were the defending champions of the competition, since they were the champions in the 2018 edition and the 2020 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The United States once again successfully defended the title, defeating the biggest surprise of the tournament Dominican Republic 6–0 in the final for their third CONCACAF U-20 Championship title.

Qualified teams

Twenty national teams participated in the tournament: the sixteen best ranked national teams (based on the CONCACAF men’s under-20 rankings), that qualified directly to the tournament, plus four national teams qualified through the 2021 CONCACAF U-20 Championship qualifying.

Round Team Qualification Appearance Previous best performance Previous FIFA U-20 World Cup appearances Group stage (title holders) 25th (2017, 2018) 16 27th (1962, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1984, 1990, 1992, 2011, 2013, 2015) 16 12th (2015) 6 (host) 20th (1982, 1994) 8 21st (1988, 2009) 9 18th (1964) 1 14th (1970, 1974) 1 10th (1978) 0 24th (1986, 1996) 8 21st (1990) 2 20th (1962, 1973) 1 21st (1970) 1 5th (1980, 1986, 2017) 0 7th (1976, 1980, 1986, 1990, 2011, 2018) 0 4th (2007, 2017, 2018) 0 3rd (2015, 2018) 0 Knockout stage 14th (1962) 0 6th (1976) 0 9th (1974, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 2013, 2018) 0 10th (1976) 0 Notes

Venues On 24 February 2022, CONCACAF confirmed three stadiums for the tournament.

During the competition, Estadio Yankel Rosenthal was used as a provisional venue due to problems with the playing pitch at Estadio Morazán caused by very heavy rainfall in San Pedro Sula. Some matches were relocated to the Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano and Estadio Yankel Rosenthal. San Pedro Sula Tegucigalpa Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano Estadio Morazán Estadio Yankel Rosenthal Estadio Nacional Capacity: 37,325 Capacity: 18,000 Capacity: 5,500 Capacity: 35,000

Squads

Players born on or after 1 January 2003 were eligible to compete. Each team had to register a squad of 20 players, two of whom had to be goalkeepers.

Draw The draw for the tournament was held on 3 March 2022, 12:00 AST (UTC−4), at the CONCACAF Headquarters in Miami, Florida. The 16 teams which entered the group stage were drawn into four groups of four teams. Based on the CONCACAF Men's Under-20 Ranking, the 16 teams were distributed into four pots, with teams in Pot 1 assigned to each group prior to the draw, as follows:

Pot 1Pot 2Pot 3Pot 4

Group stage The top three teams in each group advanced to the round of 16, where they were joined by the four teams advancing from the 2021 CONCACAF U-20 Championship qualifying.

Tiebreakers The ranking of teams in each group was determined as follows (Regulations Article 12.7): Points obtained in all group matches (three points for a win, one for a draw, zero for a loss). Goal difference in all group matches. Number of goals scored in all group matches. Points obtained in the matches played between the teams in question. Goal difference in the matches played between the teams in question. Number of goals scored in the matches played between the teams in question. Fair play points in all group matches (only one deduction could be applied to a player in a single match): Yellow card: −1 point Indirect red card (second yellow card): −3 points Direct red card: −4 points Yellow card and direct red card: −5 points Drawing of lots.

All times are local, CST (UTC−6).

Group E

Group F

Group G

Group H

Knockout stage In the knockout stage, if a match was level at the end of normal playing time, extra time was played (two periods of 15 minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winners.

Qualified directly to the knockout stage Qualified from 2022 CONCACAF U-20 Championship qualifying () () () ()

Bracket

Round of 16

Quarter-finals Winners qualified for 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Semi-finals Winners qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympic men's football tournament.

Final

Awards The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament.

AwardPlayerGolden Ball Paxten AaronsonGolden Boot Paxten Aaronson (7 goals)Golden Glove Christopher BradyFair Play Award

+Best XIGoalkeepersDefendersMidfieldersForwards Christopher Brady

Goalscorers

Qualification for international tournaments

Qualified teams for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup The following four teams from CONCACAF qualified for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina. Team Qualified onPrevious appearances in FIFA U-20 World Cup 16 (1981, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019) 8 (1977, 1995, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2015, 2017, 2019) 0 (debut) 1 (2011)

Qualified teams for the 2024 Summer Olympics Unlike the previous editions, the tournament also served as qualifier for the 2024 Summer Olympic men's football tournament. This was changed from the previous set-up where the CONCACAF representatives qualify for the Olympic football tournament through their Pre-Olympic Tournament.

The following two teams from CONCACAF qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympic men's football tournament in France.

Team Qualified onPrevious appearances in Summer Olympics1 0 (debut) 14 (1904, 1924, 1928, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1972, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2008) 1 Italic indicates hosts for that year.

Qualified teams for the 2023 Pan American Games The champion team and the top team from each of the three CONCACAF zones, i.e., Caribbean (CFU), Central American (UNCAF), and North American (NAFU), qualified for the 2023 Pan American Games men's football tournament.

The following four teams from CONCACAF qualified for the 2023 Pan American Games men's football tournament in Chile.

Team Zone Qualified onPrevious appearances in Pan American Games2 CFU 3 (1971, 1979, 2003) NAFU 12 (1959, 1963, 1967, 1971, 1975, 1979, 1983, 1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2007) UNCAF 5 (1991, 1995, 1999, 2007, 2019) NAFU 15 (1955, 1959, 1967, 1971, 1975, 1983, 1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019) 2 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

Notes At the end of the match between the United States and Costa Rica, violent and unsportsmanlike actions were reported. The Costa Rican Football Federation has been sanctioned with a fine and nine of its players were temporarily suspended due to infraction of the Competition Regulations and the FIFA Disciplinary Code. Likewise, one U.S. player was suspended and banned for the remainder of the competition.

Sponsors Qatar Airways Zambos Nike, Inc. Scotiabank

References

External links Under 20s – Men, CONCACAF.com