The United States under-20 national team is set to open its World Cup qualifying tournament on Monday against Haiti in Puebla, Mexico, and the pressure is mounting on the team to reverse a recent string of unsuccessful results for American men at the youth level.

Last year, the United States U-23 team, playing at home, failed to qualify for the London Olympics when it finished in third place in its Concacaf qualifying group. In 2011, the U-20 team was undefeated in group play in World Cup qualifying but was eliminated by a quarterfinal loss against host Guatemala.

U.S. Schedule Concacaf Under-20 Qualifying Tournament The United States will play two first-round games in the regional qualifying tournament in Puebla, Mexico: Monday, U.S. vs. Haiti, 6:30 p.m. (Fox Soccer)

Friday, U.S. vs. Costa Rica, 6:30 p.m. (Fox Soccer)

Quarterfinals, Feb. 26-27 Roster and full schedule at us.soccer.com»

This year’s U-20 team is coached by the former national team captain Tab Ramos, and over the past year he has tried to build a team capable of withstanding the pressure of a Concacaf qualifying tournament. In the tournament’s format, the teams that advance from group play play a sudden-death quarterfinal game for one of the region’s four berths in the 2013 World Cup in Turkey.

At the heart of Ramos’s roster for the upcoming tournament are Luis Gil and Jose Villarreal. Both play in M.L.S and are two of the league’s most promising young players.

Gil, 19, is a veteran of United States youth teams, and he was a standout at the 2009 U-17 World Cup. In 2010 he signed with Real Salt Lake, where he has earned significant playing time and has helped the club develop into one of the strongest in M.L.S.

On the U-20 team, Gil plays the traditional No. 10 role as the main playmaker. As the team’s most experienced player, he said he was confident about the challenges of qualifying despite the recent disappointments of youth teams.

“I don’t think there’s pressure,” Gil said. “I actually think there is more motivation. I think we’re motivated from seeing the things in the past. As a team we’re all on the same page. We know what we want to do.”

Villarreal, a Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder, will start on the right wing but is likely to shift to different attacking positions during games. Last season, his first in M.L.S., he began earning minutes on a star-studded Galaxy team. He has emerged as the U-20’s most potent goal-scoring threat.

Villarreal, 19, is too young to remember watching Ramos during his prime years as a player, but he said he was aware of the technical ability and creativity his coach possessed. It is this same skill set that Villarreal wants to bring to the U-20 team.

“We’ve been with him for a while now,” Villarreal said of Ramos. “We know how he used to play when he was a soccer player. We know the style he wants to play and we feel more confident with the way we’re functioning right now. We’re loving it.”

The United States is in Group A with Haiti and Costa Rica. If it finishes in the top two of the group, it will face either Canada, Cuba or Nicaragua in the all-important quarterfinal game.

Gil said the Americans had made progress in recent outings, which included two friendlies against Jamaica last week. The Americans won, 2-1, and drew, 1-1. Ramos’s goal this cycle has been to implement an attacking style based on a 4-3-3 formation. Under this approach, there is an emphasis on possession in the midfield and aggressive wide play from the wingers and fullbacks.

In picking his roster for this tournament, Ramos said he selected the players he believed could help the team win and maintain possession.

“The players that we’ve selected here are players who are comfortable on the ball,” Ramos said. “Players that we’ve said from the beginning we want to make a difference in the game and want to make things happen and are not afraid to have the ball at their feet when it really matters. I expect us to be a possession team.”

His team will consist of many players who come from the growing Mexican-American community in the United States. In addition to Villarreal and Gil, the squad includes Juan Pablo Ocegueda, Daniel Cuevas and Benji Joya. All were born in the United States to Mexican parents.

“We’re looking more as a team now,” Gil said. “We’re ready for qualifying. I feel like our chemistry was a big thing; especially trying the 4-3-3 system. In the midfield we’re playing simple and smart. Having our wide players going forward a lot and having numbers in the attack is always a good thing for us.”

Said Villarreal: “Not only the players but the people outside that know about soccer can see that the U.S. is obviously looking past the typical American player now. They’re trying to involve Germans, people in Europe and now Hispanics. A little diversity obviously helps the team out.”

Gil said he had noticed a steady improvement in youth development in U.S. Soccer, and he said he believed it was time for the team to prove what it could do.

“American soccer has been evolving with players getting better on the ball and with passing,” he said. “It’s always an improvement we’ve been seeing with U.S. Soccer and it feels good to be a part of it. We just have to take it to the next level.”

For news on American players at home and abroad, follow Brian Sciaretta on Twitter.