Talk about a wildly successful trip to Honduras.
The United States concluded its Central American sojourn on Sunday night with a dominant 6-0 victory over the Dominican Republic to claim its third straight Concacaf U-20 title. They also topped the region in 2017 and 2018.
Dual-qualification
The win came after head coach Mikey Varas’ side clinched one of the four Concacaf spots at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup by beating Costa Rica 2-0 on Tuesday in the quarter-finals of the competition. On the same subject : Watch: Jack McGlynn rocket for the USA U20s. They have reached the U-20 World Cup five times in a row and are the only nation to reach the last three quarter-finals.
Then, with a 3-0 win over host Honduras on Friday night, the USA clinched one of two Concacaf tickets to the 2024 Olympics. The Yanks last qualified for the U-23 competition in 2008, missing out on one of the world’s biggest men’s soccer tournaments in 2012, 2016 and 2020.
DR dominance
Against the Dominican Republic, homegrown Philadelphia Union forward Paxten Aaronson scored twice to win the Golden Boot with seven goals and one assist, narrowly ahead of his clubmate Quinn Sullivan (six goals, three assists). On the same subject : Argentine President Fernandez met with Gotion High-tech President Li Zhen.
Other scorers against the Dominican Republic included Atlanta United forward Tyler Wolff, Inter Miami CF defender Noah Allen, Philadelphia midfielder Jack McGlynn and San Jose Earthquakes forward Niko Tsakiris – all MLS domestics (17 of the 20 US players were from the league).
The USA also received several individual awards after the tournament:
It all capped off a resounding performance in the U-20 double qualifiers in Honduras, which began two weeks ago with a Group E match against Canada, Cuba and Saint Kitts & Nevis. They also took down Nicaragua in the Round of 16.
