IRAPUATO and LEON, Mexico – The 2024 Concacaf Men's U-20 Championship began the final stretch of the group stage with four encounters on Friday across two cities in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico.
The final matchday in Group A took place at the Estadio Leon in Leon where the United States and Cuba were victorious. Canada and Honduras won to conclude the action in Group B at the Sergio Leon Chavez Stadium in Irapuato.
Cuba secures quarterfinals spot
Cuba earned a 3-nil win against Jamaica in Group A to seal a spot in the knockout round as one of the two best third-place teams.
Michael Camejo opened the scoring in the 35' using his footwork in the box to find a bit of space before finding the back of the net.
David Pérez added a second in the 42' by pouncing on a defensive mistake with a right-footed strike into goal.
Romain Blake attempted to cut the deficit in the 47’ but was denied by Yurdy Hodelin, who finished the match with the clean sheet.
Karel Pérez converted from the penalty spot in the 86' to put a bow on the victory for Cuba.
The victory marks Cuba's first in the current edition, improving the nation’s record to 1-1-1. Cuba will face the Group B winner, Honduras, in the quarterfinals.
Canada defeats El Salvador for automatic berth
Canada sealed its berth in the quarterfinals by clinching a top two spot in Group B with a 2-1 victory over El Salvador.
Santiago Lopez scored first for Canada in the 21' by pouncing on blocked ball in the box.
Steven Guerra struck in the 30’ but the ball just went over the crossbar.
Francis Castillo broke through with the equalizer in the 77' to put the game even at one apiece.
Mataeo Bunbury had the last say with a bicycle kick goal in the 90'+3 to give Canada a dramatic game-winner.
With Honduras’ win later in the evening, Canada finished second in the group. The Canucks await the runner-up of Group C to be defined to learn its opponent in the next round.
El Salvador will also be attentive to the results of Group C. The remaining third place team with the better record will take the final spot in the knockout stage.
U.S. finishes first in Group A
The United States extended its undefeated start to its title defense with a 1-nil win over Costa Rica in a meeting to decide first place in Group A.
Aiden Harangi nearly opened the scoring in the 3’ but was denied by the crossbar.
Nikolas Tsakiris scored the lone goal of the encounter in the 37' to extend his tally to two in the tournament.
Alberth Barahona received a red card in the 50’, leaving Costa Rica with ten men for the remainder of the game.
Adam Beaudry returned to the starting lineup and collected his second clean sheet of the tournament after featuring in the opening match against Jamaica.
The U.S. awaits the best third-place team from either Group B or C to determine its quarterfinal opponent.
Honduras seals top spot in Group B
Honduras finished as the top team in Group B with a 5-2 win over the Dominican Republic.
Justin Ponce converted a penalty kick opportunity in the 13' to open the scoring.
Didier Paguada struck from outside the box in the 44' to send Honduras with a two-goal lead into the halftime break.
Paguada struck again in the 76' to extend the lead to three for the Central Americans.
The Dominican Republic continued to fight back and cut the deficit in the 86’ as Javier Roces struck off a bicycle kick.
Mathias Vásquez added to Honduras’ tally in the 90' to preserve a three-goal lead.
Jefry Martínez struck from a chipped attempt in the 90'+2 to seal the victory.
Elian Concepción took one back for the Dominican Republic in the 90'+3 with a long ball that bounced off the rainy surface and into the net.
Mexico-Panama headlines final group matchday
The final encounters in Group C will conclude the group stage on Saturday at the Sergio Leon Chavez Stadium in Irapuato. Hosts Mexico and Panama will meet in the headliner to decide first place in the group.
Both Mexico and Panama look to end the group stage with perfect records after winning their first two encounters. The two are mirror images regarding results, with six goals scored and only one conceded.
Mexico’s goals have come from a combined effort from six different scorers. Francisco Mendez and Alexei Domínguez scored in the most recent victory against Guatemala.
Panama’s Gustavo Herrera is the leading scorer in the tournament, scoring three goals. He scored a brace in the team’s 3-nil win against Guatemala to open their campaign.
Guatemala and Haiti meet in a must-win scenario if they are to advance to the next round. The two nations will meet for only the second occasion in the CMU20C, with Haiti winning 2-0 in 2007.
Selvin Sagastume has stood out for Guatemala with five shots, 10 ball recoveries, and the nation’s lone goal, which came from the penalty marker. Bryan Destin has scored the only goal for Haiti in CMU20 and looks to add to his all-time tally of two after playing in the 2022 edition.
