Black Immigrant Daily News
Jamaica suffered a 2-1 defeat to Guadeloupe in their second Group G match of the 2023 Concacaf Men’s Under-17 Championship in Guatemala on Tuesday.
Playing at the Estadio Doroteo Guamuch Flores in Guatemala City, Guadeloupe rallied from a late 1-0 deficit to edge the young Reggae Boyz for their first win in two games.
Ronaldo Barrett had the Reggae Boyz in front 1-0 in the 41st minute, a lead that held until the final quarter-hour. The Guadeloupe comeback started in the 78th minute as Willan Jacques found an equalizer to make it 1-1. Les Gwada Boyz then got the winning score in the 90th-minute courtesy of Ylan Molozafor their first three points of the tournament.
Jamaica remained on three points following their opening 4-2 victory over Cuba on Sunday.
The nightcap in Group G ended with a commanding victory for Costa Rica over Cuba, 4-0. The Ticos enjoyed a strong first half-hour, with goals from Roy Bustos (4th minute), Andryk Sandi (11th minute), and Victor Maroto (21st minute) giving Costa Rica a 3-0 halftime lead.
Akheem Wilson would tack on the fourth and final goal of the night for the Central Americans in the 79th minute to complete the 4-0 scoreline, sealing a place for his side in the Round of 16.
Over in Group H at the Estadio Pensativo in Antigua, Haitidefeated Suriname 3-0 for their first win of the championship.
All three goals came in the second half courtesy of Sebatien Joseph (53rd minute), Schneilorens Lebrun (57th minute), and Samuel Lamare (83rd minute).
In a duel of Central American rivals in the group’s second game, Honduras emerged victorious 4-1 over El Salvador thanks in part to three first-half goals.
Edwin Munguia (15th minute) and Jordan Garcia(27th minute) gave Honduras a 2-0 advantage, only for El Salvador to pull one back in the 36th minute through Christopher Argueta. Honduras would answer, though, right before halftime in the 45+1 minute thanks to David Herrera and then add a second-half goal from Nayrobi Vargas in the 64th minute for the 4-1 final.
With the result, Honduras have qualified for the knockout stage.
After Group Stage play, the top three nations in each group will advance to the knockout stage, joining the four 2022 Concacaf Under-17 Men’s Qualifiers group winners: Bermuda, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Puerto Rico.
The Round of 16 matches will take place February 18 and 19, at both venues, followed by the quarterfinals (February 21 and 22), semifinals (February 24), and final (February 26) in Guatemala City.
All knockout stage matches will be played in a single-match direct elimination format and the four semifinalists will qualify for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup Peru 2023.
Wednesday’s matches
GROUP F 5:00 pm – Trinidad and Tobago vs Barbados8:00 pm – USA vs Canada
GROUP E 5:00 pm – Mexico vs Panama8:00 pm – Guatemala and Curacao
Thursday’s matches
GROUP G (Estadio Doroteo Guamuch Flores)5:00 pm – Cuba vs Guatemala8:00 pm – Costa Rica vs Jamaica
GROUP H (Estadio Pensativo)5:00 pm – El Salvador vs Suriname8:00 pm – Honduras vs Haiti
NewsAmericasNow.com
