The U.S. U-17 Men’s National Team booked a spot to the FIFA U-17 World Cup but was unable to bring home the Concacaf U-17 Championship on Thursday night.
Raphael Wicky’s side lost, 2-1, to Mexico in the final of the tournament, conceding a game-winning goal in the 109th minute.
Griffin Yow broke the deadlock in the ninth minute, heading into an empty goal after Tayvon Gray’s cross found the striker’s head.
El Tri leveled the match in the 17th minute with Efrain Alvarez continuing his impressive tournament. The L.A. Galaxy midfielder crossed into the box and his effort was met by Santiago Munoz who scored.
Gianluca Busio and Gio Reyna both had good efforts with both rattling the crossbar and post respectively before halftime.
After trying on numerous occasions to find a winner, the United States could not as Mexico scored the eventual winner in the second period of extra time. Israel Luna tapped into an empty net to seal the win for Mexico.
It was the U.S. team’s first loss of the competition after a sensational run back to the finals.
The game should have been decided in the first half as the US had 3 shots off the woodwork. Busio and Reyna clearly the two best players on the pitch last night. Mexico held their own in the second half and gained more possession as the match went into extra time. Yow, Pepi and Ocampo Chavez could be the future core of USMNT. Their creativity, passing, movement off the ball and pace is impressive.
Giovanni Reyna was awesome he is at Borussia Dortmund. He just could find the back of the net this game. I cant wait to see how he develops in the future.
Interesting game. Did not see the first half, but my conclusion is that this team of US U-17s has a very fine future. They put 4 shots (at least) off the frame while I watched. Don’t know the stats, but it seemed pretty clear the US dominated. With a bit more support from the Soccer Gods, this would have been an easy US victory. That said, kudos to Mex for capitalizing on their few opportunities.