February 19, 2023

Jamaica were eliminated in the round of 16 at the 2023 Concacaf Men’s Under-17 Championship in Guatemala on Saturday night following a 2-1 defeat to the host country at the Estadio Doroteo Guamuch Flores in Guatemala City.

Guatemala will now face the United States in the quarterfinals on Wednesday while Jamaica will head home.

Selvin Sagastume opened the scoring for Guatemala in the 32nd minute but theReggae Boyz answered with an equalizer in the 54th minute courtesy of Ronaldo Barrett, leaving things knotted at 1-1.

As time ticked into the final quarter-hour, each side sought the win and it would come for Guatemala in the 77th minute, as Gabino Vasquez took an attempted headed clearance from Jamaica captain Ahir Dixon and fired into net to earn Central American country a dramatic victory.

In addition to Guatemala, the United States, Mexico and Canada were all winners on the day and have advanced to the quarterfinal round, where they will attempt to qualify for the 2023 FIFA Under-17 Men’s World Cup.

The round of 16 concludes on Sunday, followed by the quarterfinals (February 21 and 22), semifinals (February 24), and final (February 26) in Guatemala City.

The four semifinalists will qualify for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup Peru 2023.

Mexico 6 Nicaragua 0

The first match of the day at the Estadio Doroteo Guamuch Flores in Guatemala City saw Mexico march to a decisive 6-0 victory over Nicaragua.

Just like he has done all tournament long for El Tricolor, Stephano Carrillo was on target with two goals and was joined on the scoresheet by four other players.

Fidel Barajas opened the scoring in the 19th minute and was soon followed by Kevin Garcia in the 24th minute and Gael Alvarez in the 30th minute for a 3-0 halftime lead. Carrillo then swung into action with goals in the 60th and 68th minutes before Jose Urias closed the goalscoring festivities in the 90+1 minute for the 6-0 final.

USA 7 Dominican Republic 0

The United States and Dominican Republic got the knockout stage going at the Estadio Pensativo in Antigua and it was a fruitful day for the U.S., who ran out 7-0 winners.

Christopher Aquino set the tone, scoring a pair of first half goals in the 22nd and 30th minutes for an early 2-0 lead. Next it was Keyrol Figueroa taking control, with back-to-back goals in the 45+2 and 57th minutes. Micah Burton then chipped in with a goal in the 62nd minute before Ezekiel Soto notched the third brace of the day for the U.S., with goals in the 83rd and 90th minutes to round out the 7-0 scoreline.

Canada 3 Haiti 0

Canada capped off the day in Antigua with a strong 3-0 triumph over Haiti. Two goals in the first 20 minutes had the Canadians off and running, with Antoine Sedar N Diaye (4th minute) and Lucas Ozimec (16th minute) on target. Erik Pop tacked on a late goal in the 88th minute to complete the 3-0 scoreline.