BRADENTON, Florida – The United States is champion of the 2018 CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championship thanks to a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Mexico in the final on Tuesday.
For U.S. Head Coach Mark Carr, seeing his team battle back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits over the course of the match to then take the title was the embodiment of his team’s heart.
“It wasn’t an easy game by any means. Mexico made it hard but we saw the resilience, the togetherness and the grit. We showed that American spirit and that’s what carried us through in the end today,” said Carr in a post-match interview with CONCACAF.com
“We’re delighted to be going to the World Cup and it’s the icing on the cake to be CONCACAF champions,” added Carr.
Now the U.S. will turn its attention to the 2018 FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup in Uruguay which begins in November.
The U.S. has set the objective of reaching the semifinals for the first time since 2008.
“We’ll take a few weeks off. They’ll go back to their clubs. We’ll start to evaluate and get confirmation on what group will be in and start to plan from there. We want to be in the final four in Uruguay, that’s our goal, and from here on out it’s about preparing for that World Cup tournament,” said Carr.
Overall when he takes stock of the U.S.’s performance in the tournament, Carr feels like the hurdles his team overcame will help steel his group of players for the future.
“There were some ups and downs but it’s been very positive. To play in front of our fans is very exciting, but I think for us resilience and facing adversity is part of the journey. Our players have always had their eyes on the prize and it makes it even sweeter to win it in front of our fans,” concluded Carr.
