The United States and Panama grabbed hard-fought victories on Tuesday to qualify for the 2011 FIFA Under-17 World Cup and reach the semifinals of the CONCACAF U-17 Championship.

The United States defeated El Salvador 3-2 in extra-time in a match that featured three red cards.

Earlier on in the day, Panama upset Costa Rica 1-0 on a goal by Alfredo Stephens late in the second half. The win marked Panama's first time qualifying for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup.

On Wednesday, Canada will face Trinidad while host Jamaica will meet Honduras for the remaining two World Cup spots.

Idle since the conclusion of the Group Stage in October, the 2011 CONCACAF Champions League resumed Tuesday as the Columbus Crew tied Real Salt Lake at home. Later on in the night, Cruz Azul was to host Santos Laguna.

The return legs for both series will be played on March 1. On Wednesday Mexican clubs Toluca and Santos will meet before finalizing the series on March 2. Santos will be playing its first match under new coach Diego Cocca after Ruben Omar Romano was dismissed on Sunday.

The week's action will conclude on Thursday when Saprissa meets Olimpia at Estadio Saprissa in San Jose.

The teams will meet for the return leg on March 3. For more information, please visit the official Champions League site.

FC Edmonton will join two-time defending champion Toronto, the Montreal Impact and the Major League Soccer expansion franchise Vancouver Whitecaps in a reformatted Nutrilite Canadian Championship, the CSA announced Friday.

The tournament will remain as a six-game event, but instead of the league format, will change to a semifinals/finals configuration with Edmonton playing Toronto in one two-leg knockout series, and Vancouver playing Montreal in the other.

The winners of the April 27 and May 4 series will advance to the finals, set for May 18 and May 25.

The champion will claim the Voyageurs Cup and qualify for the 2011-12 CONCACAF Champions League.

Six-time champion Mexico will highlight the first day's play at the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship, facing Cuba in the second game of an opening day doubleheader.

The schedule released Wednesday for the March 28-April 10 event in Guatemala City has the Cuba-Mexico match following a tournament-starting clash between Canada and Guadeloupe. Suriname will face the United States to begin the second day's play with host Guatemala playing Jamaica in the nightcap.

Defending champion Costa Rica will begin play March 30 against Guadeloupe, followed by Trinidad & Tobago against Caribbean rival Cuba.

Crossover quarterfinals will be start April 5 and The semifinals are scheduled for April 8 with the championship and third-place game two days later.

The quarterfinals will decide CONCACAF's berths for the Under-20 World Cup, with the four winners qualifying for the July 29-August 20 event in Colombia.

For a complete schedule, please click here.

Julio Rocha has been r-eelected as President of the Nicaraguan Football Federation.

Rocha has led Nicaragua's national association for the last 22 years.

12.18.2010 - San Pedro Sula, Honduras:

HONDURAS - PANAMA 2:1

12.28.2010 - Barcelona:

CATALUNYA - HONDURAS 4:0

1.22.2011 - Carson, California:

PANAMA - PERU 0:1

2.8.2011: Moquegua, Peru:

UNITED STATES - CHILE

1:1 2.9.2011: Larissa, Greece:

GREECE - CANADA 1:0

2.9.2011: San Salvador, El Salvador:

EL SALVADOR - HAITI 1:0

2.9.2011: La Ceiba, Honduras:

HONDURAS - ECUADOR 1:1

2.9.2011: Atlanta:

MEXICO - BOSNIA 2:0

2.9.2011: Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela:

VENEZUELA - COSTA RICA 2:2

3.26.2011: San Jose, Costa Rica:

COSTA RICA - CHINA

3.26.2011: New York:

UNITED STATES - ARGENTINA

3.26.2011: Oakland:

MEXICO - PARAGUAY

3.26.2011: Havana, Cuba:

CUBA - PANAMA

3.29.2011: San Jose, Costa Rica:

COSTA RICA - ARGENTINA

3.29.2011: Nashville:

UNITED STATES - PARAGUAY