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 2nd and 3rd 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 54th 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 23rd 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.
Sherdon Cowan is a five-time award-winning journalist with 10 years' experience covering sports.
Rangers 0-2 Manchester United: Diallo and Hugill secure Red Devils' first pre-season win
Manchester United claimed their first victory of pre-season with a 2-0 win over Rangers at Murrayfield.
Amad Diallo and Joe Hugill were on target for Erik ten Hag's side, who bounced back from their 1-0 defeat by Rosenborg last time out.
The Red Devils, whose starting XI included new signing Leny Yoro and the returning Jadon Sancho, went close with young striker Ethan Wheatley calling Jack Butland into action, while Diallo was narrowly off target from a free-kick.
The latter broke the deadlock four minutes before half-time, cutting inside from the right wing before flashing a shot into Butland's bottom-right corner.
Sancho shot over from close range before United doubled their lead 19 minutes from time. Maxi Oyedele provided a neat throughball for fellow substitute Hugill, who brilliantly fired home first time off the underside of the crossbar.
Andre Onana denied Ridvan Yilmaz's acrobatic effort later on to preserve a clean sheet for Ten Hag's side, who will travel to Los Angeles to face Arsenal next week.
Queens Park Rangers 0-2 Tottenham: Bissouma and Scarlett seal Spurs win
Yves Bissouma and Dane Scarlett were on target as Tottenham continued their pre-season preparations with a 2-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers.
Ange Postecoglou's side made it two wins in the space of a week, following their resounding 5-1 rout of Hearts on Wednesday.
QPR carried the greater attacking threat during the first half. Rayan Kolli's rasping 25-yard effort was tipped onto the crossbar by Brandon Austin, while Michael Frey was denied by the offside flag.
However, Spurs broke through four minutes before the break. Bissouma played a neat one-two with Dejan Kulusevski and glided away from a couple of challenges, before rounding Paul Nardi and scoring.
Son Heung-min and Timo Werner went close to doubling the lead before half-time, while Nardi denied Mikey Moore and James Maddison in the second half.
However, Tottenham did put the game to bed with three minutes remaining as Scarlett, moments after coming on as a substitute, turned home Moore's cross at the far post.
Ten Hag moves on from Sancho row as winger makes Man Utd return
Erik ten Hag said he has drawn a line under his public spat with Jadon Sancho ahead of the winger making his first Manchester United appearance since last August.
Sancho was named in United's starting lineup for Saturday's pre-season friendly against Rangers at Murrayfield, having spent the last 11 months in the wilderness.
Sancho spent the second half of 2023-24 on loan at Borussia Dortmund, having been frozen out by Ten Hag in the aftermath of a defeat to Arsenal last September.
The Dutchman questioned Sancho's efforts in training in a post-match interview, causing the winger to claim he had been made into a "scapegoat".
While Ten Hag had previously demanded a public apology from Sancho, he now says the incident is behind him as United prepare for his second campaign at the helm.
"We spoke well. Everyone can make a mistake. We draw a line and move on," Ten Hag told AD Sportwereld.
"This club needs good players and one thing is certain: Jadon is a very good player. I hope it will click and he will contribute to our success."
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