Among those teams are Fiji, hosts of this year’s tournament being held from 21-29 March, a side looking to make the most of their home advantage.
The final squad will be announced in March and Fiji U-20 team director Tarunesh Reddy says while it is still early days for the squad they are confident they have a good team capable of challenging for the title.
“Preparations are going well and the boys are in camp training hard under the coaching panel,” Reddy says.
“The boys are aware that we are just four matches away from representing Fiji at the FIFA U-20 World Cup. We know that the road to the world cup will not be easy as a lot of hard work is required from the players and the coaching panel who are guiding them.
“The team is really shaping up for the playoffs but at the moment we are concentrating on our first match against Vanuatu, then we will take each game as it comes.”
National coaching director Juan Carlos Buzzetti says so far everything has been going according to plan, which has given both management and the players a boost ahead of the tournament.
“Players are performing well in training and I am so far satisfied with their performance. We are currently having three training sessions a day and the players are doing well,” Buzzetti says.
“This week the coaching staff have been concentrating on fitness, finishing and strengthening the combinations between players. The players have also been getting experience playing in their districts in the past few weeks.
“However the players will no longer be released to play for their district teams in the National Football League as we want to remain in camp to be well prepared for the playoffs.”
The recently crowned Fiji Football Association Junior Footballer of the Year Rusiate Matarerega is one of the players vying for a spot in the final squad and is adamant the side will be ready to put up a strong fight.
“We are preparing well and the boys are working very hard – we will do our best in the championship,” Matarerega says.
You can find the draw for the OFC U-20 Championship here.
For more on Fiji football go to www.fijifootball.com.fj

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