MIAMI, Florida – The United States kicked off their campaign on Sunday in the 2023 FIFA Under-17 Men’s World Cup in Indonesia with a 3-1 victory over South Korea in Group E at the Jakarta International Stadium in Jakarta.
Nimfasha Berchimas starred for the 2023 Concacaf Men’s Under-17 Championship runners-up with a brace, including the opening goal in the 7’ when he steered home a right-footed shot after an initial attempted clearance from the South Korea defense.
Kim Myung-jun evened the score for South Korea 1-1 in the 35’, but the U.S. regained the lead early in the second half, as Cruz Medina struck in the 49’ with a left-footed effort off a rebound.
Berchimas then cemented the three points with an insurance goal in the 73’ by weaving through a trio of defenders and sweeping in a left-footed shot to complete the 3-1 scoreline.
🇺🇸🤸 "Yep, that's me - you’re probably wondering how I got here." @USYNT | #U17WC pic.twitter.com/SP3sPoaj82
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 12, 2023
2023 CMU17 champions Mexico opened their tournament in Group F with a 3-1 defeat to Germany at the Jalak Harupat Stadium in Bandung.
It was a frustrating first half for El Tricolor, who found themselves down 2-0 at halftime after Germany posted scores through Noah Darvich in the 29’ and Max Moerstedt in the 38’.
Eric da Silva Moreira stretched the Germany lead to 3-0 in the 53’, but Mexico would then respond with a very strong final half-hour.
The deficit was cut to 3-1 in the 75’ thanks to a powerful header from Tahiel Jimenez off a free kick, but Mexico would come no closer the rest of the way.
The other two Concacaf participants in the U17 World Cup return to action on Monday, as Panama face host nation Indonesia at the Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium in Surabaya.
Panama fell 2-0 in their opening match to Morocco and will try to bounce back against an Indonesia side that played to a 1-1 draw in their opening match versus Ecuador.
Also in action on Monday is Canada, who take Uzbekistan in Group B at the Manahan Stadium in Surakarta.
Canada will be looking to rebound from their opening 2-0 defeat to Spain, while Uzbekistan are searching for their first point as well after a 3-0 loss to Mali.
