Bermuda head coach Cecoy Robinson is upbeat about his team’s chances of success at the Concacaf Men’s Under-20 Championship Qualifier in Costa Rica.

The Gombey Warriors have travelled to the Central American country with a squad Robinson feels is capable of rising to the challenge as they attempt to secure their spot in the main event for the second time.

“Everyone is buzzing and excited about the matches, taking in the information and being real positive about what we are trying to do,” he told The Royal Gazette.

“Key to success for us is taking one game at a time and being positive offensively and resilient defensively.”

Bermuda have been pitted in Group E alongside Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Sint Maarten and hosts Costa Rica.

The Gombey Warriors will kick off their campaign against Trinidad at 4pm Bermuda time 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 Saturday, Costa Rica on March 2 before closing out their campaign against Barbados on March 6.

The group winner will secure a spot in the 2026 Concacaf Under-20 Championship, which will feature the entry of the six highest-ranked nations in the region.

Robinson is hoping his team can start the round-robin tournament on the front foot but expects a tough encounter against the Soca Warriors.

“It will be a tough match and we will have to settle quickly and be up for the challenge,” he said.

“The team has settled really well and despite slight adversities it has been good to have everyone together. The boys are getting along and we are just looking forward to starting on the right foot.”

Robinson’s squad features some of the island’s top players at this level such as Queen’s Park Rangers academy player Kalen Brunson, Future Pro Academy pair Harlem Bean-Fox and Kennahz Fray, former Bermuda Under-17 captain and Hibernian player Logan Jimenez, Jace Donawa, who was recently recruited by the University of North Carolina, and Warwick Football Academy’s Xahvi DeRosa.

Promising winger Brunson missed the recent Concacaf Men’s Under-17 Qualifier in Honduras through school and club commitments but has made himself available for 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.

“There are many quality players in this age group and we expect to do Bermuda proud,” Robinson said.

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 were eliminated in 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.