PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico (May 19, 2019) – The U.S. Beach Soccer National Team fell to Mexico 6-2 in the final of the 2019 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship. As finalists the USA joins Mexico as Concacaf’s representatives at the 2019 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Paraguay in November. USA captain Nick Perera scored twice to finish with 13 goals to capture the tournament’s Golden Boot as top scorer. He also set a new USA record for most goals in a Beach Soccer World Cup qualifying tournament, surpassing his own record of 11 set in 2013.
The first period saw both goalkeepers make key plays. Mexico’s Diego Villaseñor denied Tanner Akol’s early header by tipping it over the crossbar. USA goalkeeper Chris Toth matched the effort, stopping a bicycle kick by Jose Vizcarra between his feet on the near-post goal-line. Perera then opened the scoring with a thunderous bike from 18 yards out in the final seconds of the period.
The teams played a scoreless second period, which saw an Akol bike attempt saved, and the USA’s second goalkeeper Juan Cervantes stop a shot from Villasenor and the ensuing rebound from point blank.
It all fell apart in the third period for the USA, with Mexico scoring six in a six-minute window. A questionable call gave Mexico a penalty kick that Benjamin Mosco put away, and Mexico then rode the wave of the home crowd support, adding a long-range freekick, flicked header, a penalty kick and two more after Toth moved up to help on offense. Perera added a late penalty kick.
Up Next: The USA has now qualified for five of the soon to be 10 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cups: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2013, 2019, trailing only Mexico which has qualified for six including 2019. Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay (host), Nigeria, Senegal, Japan, Oman, and United Arab Emirates have also qualified for the 16-nation World Cup field. Oceania’s lone berth will be known in June and Europe will round out the field by determining the final five entries from a tournament in July in Russia.
-U.S. Beach Soccer National Team Match Report-
Match: U.S. Beach Soccer National Team vs. Mexico
Date: May 18, 2019
Competition: 2019 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship; Final
Venue: Visit Puerto Vallarta Stadium, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Kickoff: 4:45 p.m. ET
Attendance: TBC
Weather: 85 degrees, sunny
Scoring Summary: 1 2 3 F
USA 1 0 1 2
MEX 0 0 6 6
USA – Nick Perera 12th minute
MEX – Benjamin Mosco 28
MEX – Jose Hernandez 29
MEX – Ramon Maldonado 30
MEX – Jair Aleman 31
MEX – Ramon Maldonado 32
USA – Nick Perera 33
MEX – Jair Aleman 34
Lineups:
USA: 1-Chris Toth, 4-Adrian dos Santos, 7-Nick Perera, 8-Tanner Akol, 10-Oscar Reyes
Substitutes: 12-Juan Cervantes, 2-Jason Leopoldo, 3-Ryan Futagaki, 5-Alessandro Canale, 6-Jason Santos, 9-Franck Tayou, 11-David Mondragon
Head coach: Eddie Soto
MEX: 1-Diego Villasenor, 5-Benjamin Mosco, 6-Nestor Martinez, 7-Ramon Maldonado, 10-Abdiel Villa
Substitutes: 12-Gabriel Macias, 2-Jonathan Sanchez, 3-Jose Hernandez, 4-Edgar Portilla, 8-Jair Aleman, 9-Ulises Torres, 11-Jose Vizcarra
Head coach: Ramon Raya
Misconduct Summary:
MEX – Jair Aleman (caution) 29th minute
MEX – Ulises Torres (caution) 33
MEX – Diego Villaseñor (caution) 33
Officials:
Referee: Juan Andres Angeles (DOM)
Second Referee: Miguel Lopez (GUA)
Third Referee: Guemercindo Batista (PAN)
Fourth Official: Gonzalo Carballo (SLV)