Caribbean sides Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, and Bermuda will have to play catch-up in the final round of the Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Qualifiers as they suffered defeats in their opening matches on Monday.
Haiti was heavily beaten by Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago fell to the United States, and Bermuda was outclassed by Mexico as the region’s representatives struggled to make an early impact.
The tournament, which kicked off with Group A and Group C fixtures, also saw El Salvador and Honduras play to a draw in one of the more competitive encounters of the day.
In Group A, Haiti had no response to Costa Rica, who asserted their dominance with an 8-0 victory at the Mini Estadio de la Federación Mexicana de Fútbol in Mexico.
Costa Rica wasted little time in taking control, with Veronica Solano opening the scoring in the 19th minute. Lucia Paniagua then struck twice in quick succession (19th and 27th) with two well-placed left-footed shots.
The floodgates remained open as Costa Rica added two more goals before halftime. Fabiana Arguello (45+2) and Paniagua (45+4), who completed her first-half hat-trick and gave Las Ticas a commanding 5-0 lead at the break.
Haiti in action against Costa Rica. (Photos: Concacaf Media)
The second half saw further misery for Haiti as Raquel Recio (61st), Nubia Medina (71st), and Alisha Lindo (84th) added to Costa Rica’s tally, sealing an emphatic win.
Meanwhile, Bermuda also endured a tough evening against a rampant Mexican side in a 5-0 defeat at the same venue.
Citlalli Reyes (15th) and Joselyn Solis (16th) scored in quick succession as the host went on the charge. The second half saw a similar pattern, as Anaiya Miyazato (50th) and Valeria Vázquez (52nd) extended Mexico’s lead. Mia Villalpando (90+8) rounded off the scoring in stoppage time, capping off a dominant display by El Tricolor.
Over in Group C, El Salvador and Honduras played out a 1-1 stalemate at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Trinidad and Tobago.
El Salvador took an early lead when Maya Buerger (13th) found the back of the net from close range. However, Honduras responded in the second half as Jazlyn Sanchez (61st) equalized with a well-placed header from a set-piece.
In the feature contest, host nation Trinidad and Tobago held off the United States for much of the first half but ultimately fell to a 3-0 defeat.
Bermuda and Mexico in action.
The breakthrough came in the 63rd minute, when Ashlyn Anderson pounced on a loose ball inside the box and flicked home a clever finish.
The United States doubled their advantage in the 78th minute, as Micayla Johnson executed an acrobatic right-footed finish from close range.
In the final moments, Chloe Sadler (90th) sealed the win with a precise right-footed strike into the bottom left corner.
With opening defeats, the Caribbean teams will need to regroup quickly if they hope to stay in contention for a spot at the World Cup.