EL SALVADOR WINS THE CONCACAF TITLE AND SECURES WITH THE USA A SPOT AT THE FIFA BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP
El Salvador is the new Concacaf beach soccer champion. They went undefeated in each of their games to lift their first Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship title since 2009.
El Salvador won 6-4 against the USA in the final at the Complex Fedefutbol-Plycem in Alajuela, Costa Rica. The final turned into a fierce battle as the USA kept pace with their rivals, whom they had painfully denied a World Cup place in the semi-final of the previous edition. El Salvador took the lead very early in the match, thanks to a penalty converted by Robles. Four of the match’s ten goals came from Exon Perdomo, which helped El Salvador edge Francis Farberoff’s men to lift the trophy. The Stars & Stripes finish second for the second edition running.
La Azul y Blanco was imperious throughout the campaign and scored between six and 15 goals in each of their six matches, racking up a grand total of 50. The Top Scorer chart was proof of El Salvador’s dominance. Francisco Velasquez topped it with 11, while Rubén Batres came second with ten and in third place was Exon Perdomo with nine goals. The champions also scooped the most of the individual awards, as Rubén Batres (SLV) won the Golden Ball (Best Player) and Eliodoro Portillo (SLV) won the Golden Glove (Best Goalkeeper), while Antonio Chávez (USA) won the Best Young Player.
In the match for third place, the previous champion Mexico were defeated 5-2 by a spirited Guatemalan team, led by goals from Wilson Gonzalez (2) Juan Flores, Angel Saenz and Samuel Petrez. For the first time, Guatemala ranks third, and Mexico takes fourth, a finishing position they hadn’t occupied since 2006.
El Salvador and the USA are the sixth and seventh team to reach the 2021 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Russia. Now, all eyes turn to Africa to see which teams will join them from the CAF Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations.
CAF Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations
On Sunday, 23 May, the CAF’s Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations kicked off in Saly, Senegal.
Group B
The first game resulted in a surprise win for Mozambique against Egypt, as they netted seven against the bronze medallist of the last edition in 2018, winning the 12-goal thriller 5-7. The Pharaohs will be desperate to win their next match against Seychelles on Tuesday to keep hopes of a World Cup seeding alive. Morocco defeated Seychelles 5-1 in their first group match.
On Monday, Mozambique confirmed their perfect start into the tournament with a 7-3 victory against Seychelles.
Group A
In Group A, Senegal kicked off the campaign to defend their continental title with a 5-1 win over Uganda to go top of Group A and will face Tanzania in their next match, which will take place on Wednesday. Uganda claimed their first-ever victory in the Beach Soccer AFCON, beating Tanzania narrowly in Group A by four goals to three, thanks to a brace from Isma Kawakulo.
The 2021 edition of the CAF Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations will run until Saturday, 29 May. The two teams representing Africa at the 2021 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Russia will be decided on Friday 28 May when the semi-finals decide the two finalists.
Source: https://www.beachsoccer.com/
