Mexico U-23
Erick Torres continued his excellent form with the Mexico U-23s at the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship as he scored his third goal of the tournament in a 2-0 semifinal win over Canada.
In just the sixth minute, Torres headed home a cross from Hirving Lozano past the Canadian keeper to give Mexico an early lead. Lozano then doubled the advantage in the 57th minute. Canada was given an opportunity to cut the deficit in the 80th minute with a penalty kick, but the attempt and the follow-up on the rebound were both saved. Torres subbed off in the 69th minute.
With the win, Mexico earned a spot in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. They have the opportunity to defend their CONCACAF qualifying championship on Tuesday against Honduras, who defeated the United States.
United States
Damarcus Beasley played a full 120 minutes for the United States in a thrilling CONCACAF Cup against rivals Mexico on Saturday night.
The U.S. went down early as Javier Hernandez finished off a slick attacking move for the Mexicans in the 10th minute of play. The Americans answered five minutes later as former Dynamo man Geoff Cameron headed in a ball from Michael Bradley on a free kick.
The match remained tied into extra time before Oribe Peralta knocked in a ball that was centered by Paul Aguilar in the 96th minute, but the U.S. responded once again with DeAndre Yedlin playing a ball for Bobby Wood to run onto in the box and finish past the goalkeeper in the 108th minute.
The game looked destined for penalties until Aguilar produced a moment of brilliance in the 118th minute. Raul Jimenez hit a partially cleared ball high in the air back into the box, and Aguilar lined up a shot unmarked on the right side. Aguilar volleyed it right out of the air inside the far post to secure Mexico’s spot in the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia.
Honduras
Los Catrachos played Guatemala to a 1-1 draw in Tegucigalpa on Thursday night. Boniek GarcÃa started and played 70 minutes, while Luis Garrido was an unused substitute. The Hondurans will host South Africa in San Pedro Sula on Tuesday before returning to the Dynamo.
Jamaica
Giles Barnes joined up with Jamaica at the end of the week as they prepare to face the Republic of Korea in Seoul on Tuesday.
