PUEBLA, Mexico (July 28, 2026) -- The U.S. Under-19 Men’s National Team defeated El Salvador 3-0 on a rainy night in the second match of Group A at Estadio Universitario BUAP.
The U.S. squad had success early on playing through forward Nimfasha Berchimas on the right side and generated three early shots forcing the El Salvadorian goalkeeper to make a key save on the right-footed shot from forward Din Klapija.
In a chippy first half, Berchimas suffered a calf injury when he was stopped on and was unable to continue with Dylan Vanney coming on as an early injury substitution in the 19th minute.
The Americans were finally able to break through when the U.S. captain Christopher Applewhite challenged a lofted goal kick and headed the ball back to the El Salvadorian backline. Defender Hugo Aguilar attempted to play the ball back to his goalkeeper Oliver Alegria but weakly headed the ball, forcing Alegria to come off his line. U.S. forward Din Klapija with a heroic effort to fight for the ball got to it first and the El Salvador goalkeeper took him down in the box resulting in a VAR confirmed penalty kick.
Klapija confidently converted the penalty kick, hitting a powerful right-footed shot to the upper left corner of the goal that was perfectly placed and out of reach of the goalkeeper for the 1-0 lead and Din Klapija’s second goal of the tournament.
The half ended on two excellent opportunities to extend the lead when Vanney took a free kick from the 18-yard box and forced a difficult save by the El Salvadorian goalkeeper and a shot by Colin Guske that hit the post.
The U.S. continued fighting through El Salvador’s defense in the second half with midfielder Colin Guske finding forward Jayden Conteras on the right side with a long pass over the top. Contreras gained position and beat El Salvadorian defender Jose Gutierrez, who then fouled Contreras in the box with a hard tackle to give the Americans their second penalty kick of the match.
Ruben Ramos stepped up to the spot and converted the penalty kick with a rocket of a shot just inside the right post to give the U.S. a 2-0 lead. Ramos has now successfully converted penalty attempts in consecutive matches during this tournament.
The final goal came in the 89th minute American forward Xanti Oyharcabal sent in service to the far post on a free kick and Chris Applewhite got his head on the ball, redirecting it to the center of the goal. The ball found defender Christopher Cupps as he ran forward and he easily tapped it home to give the U.S. a 3-0 win on a rainy night in Puebla. The U.S. controlled the game with 71 percent possession and limited their opponent to only three total shots and none on target. The Americans have not allow a goal in the first two matches of the tournament and is the top goal scoring team in the tournament with six goals after two matches.
Earlier today, Haiti defeated Cuba 3-2 in Group A. With the U.S. win against El Salvador, the Americans sit atop the group with the full six points in two matches and will need a tie or a win their final match of the group stage to win the group.
The U.S. Under-19 Men’s National Team will go against Cuba at 10 p.m. ET on Friday, July 31, at Estadio Universitario BUAP in Puebla, Mexico.
Follow the team’s performance and watch broadcast in English on FOX Broadcast networks with select matches on the Concacaf YouTube channel. Fans can follow all the action on ussoccer.com as well as U.S. Soccer Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Match: United States U-19 Men's National Team vs. El Salvador U-20 Men’s National Team
Date: June 28, 2026
Competition: 2026 CONCACAF U-20 Men’s Championship – Group A
Venue: Estadio Universitario BUAP; Puebla, Mexico
Weather: 63 degrees, light rain
| Scoring Summary | 1 | 2 | F |
| USA | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| SLV | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| USA – Dino Klapija (penalty kick) | 35th minute |
| USA – Ruben Ramos (penalty kick) | 61 |
| USA – Christopher Cupps (Chris Applewhite) | 89 |
Lineups:
USA: 1-Kayne Rizvanovich; 13-Tristan Brown, 2-Brandon Dayes, 4-Chris Applewhite, 20-Christopher Cupps; 8-Alexander Shaw (14-Javaun Mussenden, 69), 6-Colin Guske, 7-Jaidyn Contreras (3- Joshua Torquato, 81); 17-Rubén Ramos (18-Xanti Oyharcabal, 81), 11-Nimfasha Berchimas (16-Dylan Vanney,19), 9-Dino Klapija (19-Colton Swan, 69)
Subs not used: 5-Braden Dunham, 12-William Lodmell, 21-Lucas McPartlin
Head Coach: Gonzalo Segares
SLV: 1-Oliver Alegria; 4-Hugo Aguilar, 3-Alexander White (14-Emerson Guardado, 53), 12-Jose Guatemala, 2-Jonathan López, 10-Gabriel Arnold, 15-Jonathan Aguirre, 6-Diego Peña, 7-Christian Coreas (17-Uriel Miranda,66), 19-Luis Tobar (20-Wilber Diaz, 81), 11-William Cabrera (13-Jeferson Roque, 66)
Subs not used: 18-Maximo Sandoval, 21-Peter Cornejo, 8-Johann Ortiz, 8-Aiden Benitez, 16-Anderson Portillo
Head Coach: Erick Dowson Prado Mélendez
Stats Summary: USA / SLV
Shots: 15 / 3
Shots on Goal: 5 / 0
Saves: 3 / 1
Corner Kicks: 1 / 1
Fouls: 22 / 21
Offside: 2 / 1
| Misconduct Summary | |
| SLV – Alexander White (Caution) | 47th minute |
| USA – Alexander Shaw (Caution) | 59 |
| SLV – Hugo Aguilar (Caution) | 84 |
| SLV – Diego Peña (Caution) | 88 |
Officials:
Referee: Felix Mojica (NCA)
Assistant Referee 1: Jorginho Vasquez (PAN)
Assistant Referee 2: Twayne Anderson (CAN)
Fourth Official: Michael Venne (CAN)