Queen’s Park Rangers academy player Kalen Brunson has been named in the Bermuda squad for the upcoming Concacaf Men’s Under-20 Qualifiers in Costa Rica.

The promising winger missed the recent Concacaf Men’s Under-17 Qualifier in Honduras through school and club commitments but has made himself available for Cecoy Robinson’s squad, who are bidding to secure the island’s spot at the Concacaf Men’s Under- 20 Championship for the second time.

Brunson, who has already featured for Sky Bet Championship outfit QPR’s first team, scored a memorable hat-trick for the Bermuda Under-17 national team in a 5-0 demolition of Turks & Caicos in the Concacaf Men’s Under-17 Qualifier at Flora Duffy Stadium last year.

Robinson will be hoping the player can rediscover that sparkling form in Costa Rica in a squad that also features the likes of Future Pro Academy pair Harlem Bean-Fox and Kennahz Fray, former Bermuda Under-17 captain and Hibernian player Logan Jimenez and Warwick Football Academy’s Xahvi DeRosa to name a few.

“There are many quality players in this age group and selecting a team was a welcome headache,” Robinson said. “I am excited to lead this group and we expect to do Bermuda proud.”

The Gombey Warriors are playing in Group E alongside Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Sint Maarten and hosts Costa Rica in a round-robin competition in which the winner will secure their spot in the 2026 Concacaf Under-20 Championship. That tournament will feature the six top-ranked nations that are pre-qualified.

Bermuda are scheduled to depart for Costa Rica tomorrow and will kick off their campaign against Trinidad on Tuesday at the Complejo Deportivo FCRF-Plycem in San Rafael de Alajuela, which is hosting all of the group matches.

They will then face Sint Maarten on February 28, Costa Rica on March 2 before closing out their campaign against Barbados on March 6.

The qualifier arrives fresh on the heels of the Concacaf Men’s and Women’s Under-17 Qualifiers.

Bermuda’s Under-17 men’s team were eliminated in their qualifier in Honduras earlier this month, while the island’s Under-17 women secured their spot in the final round of the Concacaf Women’s Under-17 World Cup Qualifiers, which will also be held in Costa Rica from March 17 to 22.

“The international competitions for Bermuda are now a frequent and regular part of the football calendar,” Robinson said. “This creates challenges but is overwhelmingly positive for the growth of the Bermuda national team programme.”

This summer’s Concacaf Under-20 Championship will take place from July 25 to August 9 at a venue yet to be confirmed.

The tournament features the top 12 countries in the region divided into three groups of four, and will also serve as a qualifier for the Fifa Men’s Under-20 World Cup and 2028 Summer Olympics.

Under head coach Kyle Lightbourne, Robinson’s assistant at PHC, Bermuda made their debut at the Concacaf Men’s Under-20 Championship in 2018 in Costa Rica, where the Gombey Warriors failed to advance from the group stage.

Mexico are the defending Concacaf Men’s Under-20 champions having edged the United States 2-1 in the previous final at the Leon Stadium in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico in 2024.