CHICAGO ( Nov. 11, 2008) -- The 2009 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship will be played from March 6-15 in two venues in Trinidad & Tobago, as eight teams will compete for four places at the 2009 FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Egypt.

The teams will be split into two groups, with Group A  based at Dwight Yorke Stadium in Bacolet, Tobago and opening play on March 6. Group B, which opens on March 7, will play first-round games at Marvin Lee Stadium in Macoya, Trinidad.

The United States, Canada and Mexico all received byes into the tournament. A total of six teams have already been determined, as host Trinidad & Tobago, Costa Rica and El Salvador have already qualified. The Caribbean Football Union will stage the finals of its qualifying event November 18-22 in Aruba, with the winner advancing automatically and the runner-up facing Honduras, the third-place finisher in Central American qualifying, for the final berth.

The 2009 event will mark the fifth time that Trinidad & Tobago has hosted U-20 qualifying with the last time coming in 2001. It is also the first time since 1996 that the qualifying tournament will be staged in a single country and will crown a single champion.

The U.S., led by head coach Thomas Rongen, will prepare with a series of international and domestic training camps, including an upcoming trip to Spain. IN 2007, Rongen led the team to a top finish in Group A during qualifying before a remarkable run to the quarterfinals of the 2007 FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Canada.