K’Shaela Burch-Waldron, the Bermuda Under-20 women’s player, has praised her team-mates’ performances after defeating St Kitts 7-0 and drawing with Dominican Republic 2-2 to advance to the next round of the Concacaf Championships.

Bermuda finished top of their group in the Dominican Republic, and travel to Haiti in October as they continue their bid to qualify for the Under-20 Women’s World Cup.

Burch-Waldron believes that hours spent honing their skills on the training ground meant the players were fully prepared for the tournament.

“Before the first round we were training every day, some days morning and night because a lot of players were coming from overseas and we needed all that time together so we could get focused,” she said.

“When we train or play matches we are like one big family. We encourage each other, fight for each other and we bring everything we have to the table because we love to play football.

The under-20s have been pitted against Haiti, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic for the final qualifying round ahead of the next phase of the Championships in October.

Bermuda will compete in group A, with the games to be held in Haiti in October. Three spots are up for grabs for the under-20 Championships, which will be held in Honduras in December.

“We are hoping to shock more people and show them that no matter how small this Island is, this group of girls and coaches can do what they have to do,” Burch-Waldron said.

“[We’re] hoping we make it to top three in Concacaf so we can get a chance to experience playing against United States, Canada and other contenders,” she said.