MIAMI —The 2024 Concacaf Men's U-20 Championship continues with the quarterfinals on Tuesday and Wednesday in Guanajuato, Mexico.
The defending champions, the United States, kick off the knockout round against Guatemala, followed by Panama against Canada on Tuesday at the Leon Stadium in Leon, Guanajuato.
The action resumes on Wednesday with hosts Mexico against Costa Rica and Honduras versus Cuba at the Sergio León Chávez Stadium in Irapuato.
United States vs. Guatemala
The United States and Guatemala meet for the twelfth time in the tournament, their last meeting at the 2015 edition and their second encounter in the quarterfinal stage. The North Americans lead the all-time series with seven wins and two draws, with Guatemala winning on two occasions.
In the last three meetings, the United States has not been able to defeat Guatemala. The nations played to a scoreless draw in 2007, Guatemala took a 2-1 victory in 2011, and the two tied 1-1 in 2015.
Guatemala's 2011 victory came on home soil at the Dorotheo Guamuch Flores Stadium, in the only other quarterfinal meeting at the Concacaf U-20 Championship.
The champions of the past three editions, the U.S. is undefeated in 23 matches in CMU20, with 21 wins and two draws. Their last defeat in the tournament was against Panama, 1-0, in the group stage at Costa Rica 2017.
Winners of Group A, the United States arrive with the best offense in the current edition, amassing 14 goals from 10 different scorers, and the best defense with zero goals conceded. Pedro Soma, David Vazquez, Niko Tsakiris, Marcos Zambrano each have two goals to co-lead the team.
Guatemala came alive in its final group stage match with a 5-1 victory against Haiti to earn the final spot in the final phase as one of the two best third-place teams. Olger Escobar, 17, stood out with a hat-trick performance and is a candidate in the Golden Boot race.
Panama vs. Canada
Panama and Canada meet for only the second time at the CMU20. The previous meeting came in the group stage of the 2018 edition, which Panama won 2-1.
The Panamanians were one of the best of the group stage with an undefeated 2-1-0 record. Even with hosts Mexico in nearly every category, Panama finished second in Group C on tiebreakers. Gustavo Herrera co-leads the top scorer race with three goals in the tournament. Herrera scored in the first two encounters to help the nation start off with six points.
Canada also went undefeated in the group stage after drawing its opening match and winning two straight, finishing second place in Group B. Santiago López was directly involved in four of Canada’s five goals and has registered two goals and two assists.
Mexico vs. Costa Rica
Mexico and Costa Rica will meet for the twelfth time in the tournament, the last coming in the 2011 final in which Mexico triumphed 3-1.
The hosts finished first in Group C with a 2-1-0 record. Stephano Carrillo scored a 90th-minute goal in the group stage finale against Panama to force the group to be decided on tiebreakers. Mexico's frontline has divided the scoring responsibility with seven different scorers.
Costa Rica was the second-place team in Group A, with a 1-1-1 record. Andy Rojas led the nation with two goals and made eight shots in the group stage.
Honduras vs. Cuba
Honduras and Cuba meet for the third time in the CMU20 and the first since the 2018 edition. The Central Americans have been victorious in the two previous meetings.
Los Catrachos are undefeated after going 2-1-0 to win Group B. The team began its campaign with a 2-2 comeback victory against Canada, a result that ended up playing a factor in winning the group.
Roberto Osorto has been the star man for Honduras, starting every match, providing a goal and two assists. Didier Paguada and Afronit Tatum lead the team with two goals each.
Cuba finished third in Group A with a 1-1-1 record. The Caribbean nation qualified with a 3-nil win in its final group match against Jamaica. Michael Camejo, David Pérez, Karel Pérez scored the goals that led the team to the quarterfinals.
