This is part two of a two-part series on the U.S. U17 Women's National Team prior to its CONCACAF Championship opener again Bahamas on Thursday. Read part one here.

Be prepared for anything.

That’s something every U.S. team heading into CONCACAF qualifying should have on their mind when preparing to play in Central America.

And for a U.S. youth women’s national team like the U17s, that’s one of many things to keep in mind as they embark on the road they hope ends with a spot in the 2012 U17 Women’s World Cup.

“It’s really about just keeping them grounded,” head coach Albertin Montoya told TopDrawerSoccer.com about the team’s approach. “That’s something I’m always touching on – stay humble, anything can happen in this wonderful game. Look at Barcelona-Chelsea; look at our U17s two years ago.

“It’s just reminding them and keep that in the back of their mind. All of these players have faced at one time or another at club teams where they’ve dominated and it just doesn’t go your way. So we need to make sure we’re calm and composed and kind of stay within our game, and more often than not, that’ll help us be successful.”

As he prepares his team for this week, Montoya is looking to balance a line between a group that is confident and imposes their game on the opposition, and one that is ready for calls to not go their way and for overmatched teams to bunker defensively.

With group opponents Bahamas, Trinidad & Tobago and Mexico waiting, there’s a bit of uncertainty as the U.S. prepares to open the tournament without having seen their first opponents.

“With Bahamas it’ll be a little bit difficult because it’ll be our first game so we will not see them play,” Montoya said. “But we will have a chance to scout Trinidad & Tobago, Mexico, and all the other teams.”

And while that can be considered something of a disadvantage, it means the focus falls on Montoya and his group worrying more about how they perform than anything else in all the group games, as they’ll only have short windows to scout the two other group opponents.

“It gives us only a couple days of scouting them and preparing, and that’s why going into CONCACAF it’s extremely important that we do what we do best and do it well and consistently,” Montoya said. “Obviously we’ll scout their set pieces, how they play, how they attack, although that can be deceiving, because a Trinidad & Tobago and a Bahamas will probably play a little different against each other than they will play against the United States. So we have to be prepared with whatever’s thrown at us.”

Part of taking the game to their opposition is going to stem from their formation, which is expected to be a 4-3-3 that can become a 4-5-1 when necessary.

“I’ve said all along we want to try and impose our game and be aggressive anywhere we play and have teams adjust to us more than we’re adjusting to them,” Montoya explained. “I want our players to be confident in what we do and play that way – if we need to make adjustments, we will, but I do believe that if we play to our abilities, we should be able to play a 4-3-3 and be quite successful with it in the tournament.”

If the group stage scenario plays out the same way as it did for the U17s in 2010, a distinct possibility considering the funding of youth programs of CONCACAF – the U.S. U17s outscored opponents 32-0 – it could be easy for a group to become overconfident.

Naturally, that is something on Montoya’s mind and that he’s adamant to make sure doesn’t become an issue.

“Our coaching staff will make sure this group is not overconfident,” he said. “Yes, we want to be confident in what we do and how we approach the game, but anything can happen. So that’s why we have to make sure we stay sharp from beginning to end, every game throughout the tournament, making sure our players mindset is in the right place.”

Even if the U17s fall at the same obstacle as 2010, it won’t spell the same failure. Because Trinidad & Tobago hosted the 2010 U17 Women’s World Cup, only two teams from CONCACAF could advance to the final. This year, both finalists and the winner of the third place game can make it.

However, that’s not the goal for the U.S. here, as Montoya isn’t going to get carried away – but is looking to win the whole thing when all is said and done.

“For me right now, it’s just the group games, take it one game at a time,” he said. “Our result against Bahamas will a little bit dictate what we do against Trinidad, and our result there will dictate what we do against Mexico. So taking it one game at a time, if you do look ahead we do that safety net, but let’s hope we’re not going to be using that – our goal is to be CONCACAF champion and play to the best of our abilities so we can do that.”

 

Using expertise gleaned from charting this age group since the start of the cycle, TopDrawerSoccer.com's staff has taken an educated guess at the depth chart prior to the first games from Guatemala - check it out below.

 

Group Schedule (all games streamed online at CONCACAF.com)

U.S. U17 vs. Bahamas, May 3, 4:00 PM EST

U.S. U17 vs. Trinidad & Tobago, May 5, 4:00 PM EST

U.S. U17 vs. Mexico, May 7, 7:30 PM EST