Bermuda are gearing up for their biggest test at the Concacaf Men’s Under-20 Qualifiers in Costa Rica when they take on the host nation on Monday (4pm Bermuda time).

Costa Rica are the seventh best side in the Concacaf men’s under-20 while Bermuda are nineteenth. The Costa Ricans have shown their class in group E, where they are on top with six points.

Bermuda, who need to finish on top of the group to qualify for the 12-team Concacaf Championship, have done exceptionally well to secure four points from two matches. They fought brilliantly to draw 2-2 with Trinidad & Tobago in their first encounter, before defeating St Maarten 2-0 on Saturday.

Costa Rica started their campaign with a 12-0 triumph over Sint Maarten last Thursday, a win they followed up with a 3-0 victory over Barbados on Saturday.

With the Costa Rica defence yet to be breached after two matches, Bermuda coach Cecoy Robinson is expecting a difficult encounter.

“Trinidad was a tough match and I think that Costa Rica will be just as tough,” Robinson told The Royal Gazette.

“We have to be just as resilient as we have to be in every game, not taking anybody lightly or for granted. We need to make sure that we do what we need to do to secure the result.”

With Costa Rica having played Barbados after Bermuda took on Sint Maarten, Robinson is counting on his players making a quicker recovery than their opponents.

“Costa Rica played after us on Saturday, so their recovery will be a little less than ours,” the Bermuda coach said.

“If we recover well and they don’t recover well, it could be an advantage to us. It’s actually really hot out here, especially during the day to play those matches.

“We just have to put our heads down and concentrate on what we're going to do, what the game plan is like and go straight on the pitch. We have two matches to play and we need to get something out of those matches.”