This year, the United States finds itself grouped with a North American opponent for the first time at a CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championship. That opponent, Mexico, features eleven players who live in the United States, including two players, Jenny Chiu and Cynthia Pineda, who have been in USWNT youth camps.

The third team in the group is Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), who have a few veterans returning from the 2010 Under-17 Women’s World Cup, which T&T hosted. The Bahamas is the final team in the group and are the lone debutantes at this tournament. In fact, this is the first time that this small Caribbean nation has qualified for any final phase of a CONCACAF tournament, men’s or women’s. Continue reading →