In the last version of the U20 Concacaf Championship, the 2022 United States team ran through the competition, aside from a group stage draw to Canada. They never faced rival Mexico and had a fairly easy path to the trophy. While that team did have a few release challenges, they did not have nearly as many players unavailable to them as the 2024 team.
Here is how each position group compares from last cycle to this cycle.
Keyrol Figueroa, USYNT center-forward that plays for Liverpool's Academy
Position by position comparison
Goalkeepers
2022: Chris Brady and Antonio Carrera
2024: Julian Eyestone, Adam Beaudry and Duran Ferree
Chris Brady and Antonio Carrera were a very strong goalkeeping duo. Brady started the majority of critical games for the United States in this tournament and while he didn’t have a ton to do, he did perform well. Julia Eyestone may have a similar ceiling as Brady, but Brady was much further along in his development. Carrera would probably start for this year’s team as well.
Advantage: 2022
Full-backs
2022: Mauricio Cuevas, Michael Halliday and Noah Allen
2024: Ethan Kohler, Aiden Harangi, Nolan Norris and Luca Bombino
Neither of these groups are particularly exciting. This is where the 2022 group had a lot of missing talent in Justin Che, Caleb Wiley and Jonathan Gomez. Had those three players been available the 2022 group wins in a landslide, but they didn’t. The 2024 group does not have any stars, but they have depth, versatility and I think they could be a group that does well in this tournament.
Advantage: 2024
Center-backs
2022: Brandan Craig, Jalen Neal and Marcus Ferkranus
2024: Noah Cobb and Stuart Hawkins
The 2022 starters were a very strong group, especially in distribution with Brandan Craig and Jalen Neal. The 2024 pool has the talent to outshine the last group, but the top three players are not available, so this choice becomes an easy one.
Advantage: 2022
Defensive/Central-midfielders
2022: Daniel Edelman, Obed Vargas, Rokas Pukstas, Alejandro Alvarado, Jack McGlynn and Niko Tsakiris
2024: Pedro Soma, Niko Tsakiris, Brooklyn Raines, Sergio Oregel, Taha Habroune
I think Soma is an upgrade at the 6, but Pukstas, Alvarado and McGlynn were strengths at the 8 position in 2022. Tsakiris should be a real impact player in his second go around and may be one of the most important players in the 2024 group. The 2022 group had slightly better depth and versatility.
Advantage: 2022
Attacking-mids/Wingers
2022: Cade Cowell, Caden Clark, Quinn Sullivan, Diego Luna and Tyler Wolff
2024: David Vazquez, Ruben Ramos, Cruz Medina, Nimfasha Berchimas and Zavier Gozo
At full strength, the 2024 group might give 2022 a run for their money. But without Esmir Bajraktarevic, Kristian Fletcher and Cole Campbell, the 2024 group had to go very young. The 2022 group didn’t have a ton of true wingers, but they had a lot of playmakers and ways to break down the opposition.
Advantage: 2022
Center-forwards
2022: Paxten Aaronson
2024: Marcos Zambrano-Delgado and Keyrol Figueroa
This is a strange one to grade because the 2022 team did not have a true number 9, but Paxten Aaronson performed well as a false 9 and finished the tournament with the golden boot. The 2024 team boasts two different kinds of 9s which I think will give them an opportunity to play different styles.
Advantage: Push
Final thoughts
The 2024 team has had a much tougher time getting releases for their top players and because of that they bring a weaker team to the 2024 version of the U20 Concacaf Championship. That does not mean expectations should change. This team is still talented enough to make it to the semifinals, qualify for the U20 World Cup and they still are one of the favorites to win the entire tournament. Michael Nsien has proven to be a quality coach and if he is able to take this team to the final and win a fourth consecutive trophy at this tournament, it will be an impressive accomplishment.
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