|
COATEPEQUE, Guatemala - Jairo Jimenez scored a 77th-minute winner and 10-man Panama beat Guatemala 1-0 on Sunday to send itself and El Salvador to the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship.
All three teams finished with three points and an identical zero goal difference from three matches, but Friday's 4-3 victory by El Salvador over Panama was the difference, as both qualified for the CONCACAF finals on goals scored.
Jimenez's tally came 14 minutes after Yitzhak Moreno was ejected from the match with a second yellow card for stomping an opponent who was on the ground.
Panama and El Salvador join Costa Rica and Nicaragua, which claimed their places eight days earlier, as well as automatic North American qualifiers Canada, Mexico and the United States for the 12-team CONCACAF finals in Puebla, Mexico, February 18-March 2.
Caribbean qualifying began Wednesday. The Caribbean Football Union on Saturday changed the format somewhat, announcing that the second and final round of qualifying would consist of eight teams instead of six.
The four first-round group winners plus three second-place teams would join host Jamaica in an eight-team final round November 3-11. Five teams will complete the CONCACAF finals field.
