Jamaica's young Reggae Boyz celebrate.
Concacaf Media
Jamaica's young Reggae Boyz remain in the driver's seat to secure the coveted Group F top spot, following their 2-0 win over Grenada in their second encounter at the Concacaf Men’s Under-20 Championship qualifiers in St Kitts and Nevis on Monday.
The Jamaicans, who clipped Martinique 1-0 in their opening contest on Saturday, made it two-in-two, courtesy of goals from Nicholas Simmonds (30th) and Ronaldo Barrett (82nd). It was the first goal for both players at this level and the first time Jamaica have secured consecutive wins at the tournament since 2022. It was also the country's first consecutive clean sheet at the tournament since 2018, and first win against Grenada at this level since that 2018 outing.
Simmonds, who represents Richmond Kickers in the United States, was delighted by his first start and, by extension, his first national goal.
"It felt good so thanks to coach for giving me the start and it was also great to get a goal in. I am just happy to wear the national colours and I am looking forward to a good game against Bermuda, the team chemistry is really good, so we should again do well in that game," Simmonds said in a post-game interview.
With the win, the John Wall-coached young Reggae Boyz remain in pole position on six points, and only require a draw against second-placed Bermuda (three points) on Wednesday to confirm their spot in the Concacaf Championships round where the top six teams –United States, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica and Dominican Republic -awaits.
The final round will be staged in Mexico in July, where four spots to the 2025 FIFA Under-20 World Cup will be up for grabs.
Elsewhere in Group F, Martinique rebounded from their loss to Jamaica to edge Bermuda 2-1.
Hervinsonn Gervais (33rd) and Awon Guillaume (63rd) scored for Martinique, while Riley Robinson (82nd) pulled one back for Bermuda.
Meanwhile, Trinidad and Tobago will be among those in action on Tuesday, as they lock horns with Canada in a much-anticipated Group D top-of-the-table clash with Canada, at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
The two will meet in the 6:00pm feature contest, after Dominica and St Vincent and the Grenadines square off in a 3:00pm contest of academic interest.
This will be the 10th all-time meeting between Trinidad and Tobago and Canada at this level, with the North American boasting seven wins, one loss and one draw from their previous encounters. Both teams are currently locked on six points, with Canada ahead on goal difference. The winner progress to this summer’s Championship.
Portugal 2-1 Scotland: Ronaldo's late heroics seal comeback win
Cristiano Ronaldo came off the bench to score the winner as Portugal earned a 2-1 victory, condemning Scotland to another late defeat.
The 39-year-old, who started on the bench in a competitive match for the first time since the 2022 World Cup, added to Bruno Fernandes' strike after Scott McTominay had given Scotland the lead early on.
The home crowd were just as stunned as Portugal's defence when McTominay snuck in behind, thumping Kenny McLean's cross past a stranded Diogo Costa after just seven minutes.
The hosts certainly had their chances to get back into the game though – Angus Gunn made a brilliant save to deny Rafael Leao, who also fired a number of efforts wide of the left post.
Though Scotland tried to continue soaking up the pressure, their defence was eventually breached nine minutes after the break, with Fernandes marking his 30th birthday with a sweeping finish from 20 yards out.
Gunn smothered Joao Felix's low shot in the 78th minute before Ronaldo came within millimetres of a winner as his header hit the inside of the far post.
But Ronaldo would have the final say as he stretched out a leg in the six-yard box to turn Nuno Mendes' cross into the back of the net.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo the hero once again
Steve Clarke could not have asked for more from his team in the first half, as they scored with their only effort, but also resolutely defended as Portugal racked up 16 shots (three on target), creating 1.21 expected goals (xG).
It was a regular creator that got the Selecao back on level terms though, as Fernandes got his 21st goal involvement under Roberto Martinez in all competitions, at least five more than any other Portugal player (11 goals, 10 assists).
And Ronaldo is now up to 901 career goals, with only Aleksandar Mitrovic (14), Erling Haaland (12) and Romelu Lukaku (10) bettering his nine-goal tally in the Nations League.
Switzerland 1-4 Spain: Fabian brace leads 10-man La Roja to victory
Fabian Ruiz’s double helped 10-man Spain claim a comprehensive 4-1 win over Switzerland in the Nations League on a rainy night in Geneva.
Joselu opened the scoring after just four minutes as he latched onto the end of Lamine Yamal’s pinpoint cross to flick goalwards.
The goal was confirmed after some controversy as Swiss goalkeeper Gregor Kobel thought he had clawed it away before it crossed the line.
Switzerland thought they had an immediate response three minutes later but Becir Omeragic had a goal ruled out for a handball in the build-up. Instead, Spain doubled their lead on 12 minutes as Fabian powered home the rebound from Nico Williams’ parried shot.
The Swiss were handed a lifeline as Robin Le Normand was shown a straight red for bringing Breel Embolo down as he went through on goal, and Zeki Amdouni rattled the crossbar from the resultant free-kick.
Amdouni did find the net to bring scores level just before half-time, sweeping home Embolo’s flick-on from a corner after finding himself unmarked at the back post. He nearly had a brace after the restart, but it was ruled out for a foul in the build-up.
Instead, it was Fabian with two goals to his name by the final whistle, after he tucked away at the far post in the 77th minute against the run of play before Ferran Torres added further gloss.
Data Debrief: Spain's run rolls on
The writing was on the wall early for Switzerland who have not won any of their last eight matches after conceding first in the Nations League. Spain, on the other hand, are undefeated in their last five matches when they have scored first in the competition.
It means, excluding friendlies, Spain are now unbeaten for 17 matches in all competitions (W15 D2). It is their best unbeaten run under a single manager since Vicente del Bosque was in charge in June 2013.
Italy boss Spalletti expects to make five changes for Israel match
Luciano Spalletti is expecting to make up to five changes for Italy's Nations League clash with Israel owing to the tight turnaround between matches.
Italy produced a shock 3-1 victory over France on Friday, just three days before they face Israel in Hungary.
But their opening three points in Group A2 took their toll, with starters Riccardo Calafiori and Lorenzo Pellegrini both leaving the squad after sustaining injuries in the match against France.
As such, Spalletti feels it is necessary to rotate for their upcoming match.
"It's difficult to put the same team out as Friday. It's not possible to get over the fatigue after just two days. Let's see how the guys are, but it's not unusual to change three, four, five players," the Italy boss told the press.
Some players, however, will have to play due to the injuries sustained in that victory, which saw them register their first win against France since June 2008.
"Bastoni will play tomorrow because it becomes tricky taking both him and Calafiori out of the team. He has the most experience, he brings things to the table that can help the whole team," Spalletti added.
"Frattesi will be evaluated in today's training, but he says he is fine and good to go. He was substituted earlier than planned, to avoid any unnecessary dangers. We need to see after a bit of training."
Italy play Israel in the Nations League on Monday at the Bozsik Arena in Hungary.
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