USA and Mexico Advance to U-15 Championship Final

MIAMI – The Concacaf Boys Under-15 Championship continued on Saturday with the League A semifinals at the FCRF Federation Fields in Alajuela, Costa Rica. The top two teams from Groups A and B faced off in the semifinals, while the remaining teams played one additional match to determine their final positions.

In the first semifinal, Mexico triumphed over host team Costa Rica with a score of 2-1. Mexico took an early lead in the 10th minute, thanks to a powerful finish by Da’vian Kimbrough from the center of the box. This goal marked Kimbrough’s fifth of the tournament. Mexico doubled its lead just 13 minutes later when Paxon Ruffin capitalized on a loose ball inside the box.

Costa Rica responded in the second half, with Ismael López converting a penalty in the 52nd minute, but it was not enough to change the outcome.

In the other semifinal, the defending champions, the United States, faced Panama in a nail-biting match that ended 2-2 after regulation. Panama opened the scoring in the first minute with a goal from Jasio Jordan. The United States equalized in the 14th minute when Niccolo Vafiades scored a stunning shot to the top-right corner.

Vafiades quickly added another goal in the 17th minute, taking advantage of a rebound. Despite this, Panama equalized again just before halftime when Mauro Ortega scored a towering header to level the match.

After a tense second half where both teams fought for supremacy, the match proceeded to penalties, with the USA winning 6-5. Goalkeeper Emmanuel Arias made a vital save, and Olatimoni Gbalajobi scored the winning penalty to secure the USA’s spot in the final.

In the playoffs, Saudi Arabia defeated Honduras 3-1, with captain Tamim Al Khaldi converting a penalty to start the scoring. After Honduras equalized, Saudi Arabia regained the lead through Yazan Alabdurabalnbi and sealed the victory with a goal from Meshari Alshahrani.

Canada also had a strong showing, beating El Salvador 3-0 with goals from John Alexis, Hunter MacGowan, and Ethan Reid. With these results, the USA and Mexico advanced to Sunday’s final, marking a rematch of their 2023 championship game.