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• Young Reggae Boyz mauled 9-0 by United States in Concacaf U-20 Champs opener; Cuba hold Costa Rica

  It was like lambs to the slaughter as Jamaica’s young Reggae Boyz started the Concacaf Men's Under-20 Championship with a dismal performance and were mauled 9-0 by United States at the Miguel Aleman Valdez Stadium in Mexico on Friday.

  The Jamaicans, who would have entered the tournament confident of a good performance, did little to show that they will be competitive in the tournament, which serves as a qualifier for next year’s Under-20 World Cup in Chile.

  With the win, reigning champions United States took pole position on three points, ahead of Cuba and Costa Rica, who played out a 1-1 stalemate in the curtain-raiser of the Group A double-header.

  Jamaica’s young Reggae Boyz had no response to the onslaught of three-time champions United States, who, in a frantic start, raced to a 4-0 lead inside 21 minutes.

  In fact, Jamaica’s lone effort on target was from an ambitious 25th-minute freekick from captain Adrian Reid Jr, driven along the wet surface from well over 30 yards out.

  David Vazquez grabbed an early brace in the 2^nd and 3^rd minutes, as he opened the scoring with an easy finish from deep inside the box, and he later drove home a left-footer in similar fashion.

  Pedro Soma struck with a left-footed strike of his own in the 16th to extend United States lead, and he too completed a brace in the 20th with another left-footed hit inside the box.

  Not even a slew of early substitutions by Jamaica’s head coach, Jerome Waite, could stop the carnage, as Cruz Medina capitalised on their sloppy defending to finish off a loose ball and put United States 5-0 up at the break.

  

  As the evening rains continued to drizzle, the one-way traffic continued on the resumption when Marcos Zambrano struck in the 54^th as United States maintained their offensive efficiency.

  Ruben Ramos scored in the 67th to make it seven, before Nimfasha Berchimas added another in the 77th.

  Nikolas Tsakiris then capped the win with a close range effort in the 90+1 minute.

  Earlier, Samuel Rodriguez’s eight-minute penalty put Cuba in front, but the Spanish-speaking Caribbean island couldn’t maintain the lead, as Esteban Cruz (52nd) earned Costa Rica a share of the spoils.

  It was a contest that could have gone either way, but for excellent glove work by Cuba’s Yurdy Hodelin and his Costa Rican counterpart Berny Rojas, as both teams had their fair share of chances.

  After Leonardo Alfaro’s 23^rd minute strike for Costa Rica came back off the crossbar, Hodelin kept out Andy Rojas’ 30th-minute penalty kick.

  Costa Rica’s custodian, Berny Rojas, came up big twice to deny Aniel Casanova and Cristian Mendoza in quick succession.

  Action in Group A will resume on Monday with the young Reggae Boyz to lock horns with Costa Rica, while Cuba will face the United States in the feature contest at the same venue.

• Bournemouth midfielder Adams to miss start of season through injury

  Bournemouth and United States midfielder Tyler Adams will miss the start of the Premier League season after undergoing surgery on a back injury.

  Adams joined Bournemouth from Leeds United in a deal worth over £20million last year but endured an injury-affected debut season at the Vitality Stadium.

  He has only made three Premier League appearances totalling 118 minutes for the Cherries, and he will sit out the start of 2024-25 after aggravating a back issue at the Copa America.

  Adams featured in all three of his country's games at their home tournament as they crashed out in the group stage, but Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola now expects to be without him in the early stages of the campaign.

  "He finished the season with an injury in his back," Iraola said. "He wanted to play the Copa America because it was very important for him, but he had restrictions and was still in pain, so two days after they were knocked out, he had surgery.

  "He is out for some time. It is difficult to say how long but he won't be fit for the start of the season. But September? October? I don't know."

  Asked why Bournemouth did not prevent Adams from linking up with the USA, Iraola added: "It was not our choice.

  "It is a decision for the nations, who are allowed to select players, and he wanted to play thinking the injury would get better but he felt it was getting worse."

• Ten Hag confirms Man Utd's De Ligt interest but denies pushing for move

  Erik ten Hag has confirmed Manchester United hold an interest in signing Matthijs de Ligt but has denied pushing for a reunion with the centre-back.

  De Ligt, who played under Ten Hag at former club Ajax, has been linked with a move to Old Trafford after struggling in his first two seasons with Bayern Munich.

  United sealed a £52million deal for Lille centre-back Leny Yoro this week but could still move for another defender, having had bids rejected for Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite. 

  Speaking to Dutch outlet AD Sportwereld, Ten Hag confirmed De Ligt features on United's shortlist but claimed he was not the first person to suggest him as a target.

  "It remains to be seen whether De Ligt will come. I know Matthijs well and I will not deny that," Ten Hag said.

  "I wanted to sign him two years ago but at that time, he was already very far along to join Bayern Munich.

  "Believe it or not, his name did not come from me in the process."

  De Ligt only featured in 22 of Bayern's 34 Bundesliga matches last season, starting 16 times, as they finished third behind unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen and surprise package Stuttgart.

  Bayern kept just two clean sheets with De Ligt involved in 2023-24, with the likes of Dayot Upamecano, Kim Min-jae and Eric Dier often edging him out for a starting spot.