EL SALVADOR AND MEXICO TO REPRESENT CONCACAF IN QATAR T
he nations travelling to Doha, Qatar for the World Beach Games have all been decided, and it was at the Anfiteatro CIFCO in El Salvador that the Concacaf representation were chosen in style, with beach soccer of the highest level on display from both the men’s and women’s selections. The tournament took place 3 to 5 August and saw the eight men’s teams and four women’s teams (two of whom were making debut appearances) compete for a ticket to the Games, which will take place 11 to 16 October in the Qatari capital. The men’s tournament went straight into a knockout system, where victory on the opening day for Panama, USA, Mexico and El Salvador ended the journey for Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Guatemala and US Virgin Islands almost as soon as it had begun. The women, however, played in a Round Robin group where Mexico narrowly beat USA and the hosts El Salvador lost to Bahamas on day one. In the men’s semi-finals, a replay of the final at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Qualifier in May, saw Mexico come out on top after an intense penalty shootout, dumping the USA out of the running for a ticket to Qatar. Meanwhile there was elation for the Salvadorian locals as they beat Panama by four goals to two to join Mexico as the Concacaf ambassadors at the World Beach Games, making up for their earlier disappointment in not reaching the World Cup. The Mexican women put seven past Bahamas to top the group, while USA beat El Salvador to draw level on point with Bahamas. Both the Azteca and El Salvador had done enough to make the Games in Doha, but they still had to decide who would go home with the trophy, and the hosts just missed out by a single goal as Mexico squeezed out a 5-4 victory. The Salvadorians saw Exon Bladmir awarded the competition MVP, while Alfonso Maquensi (Panama) won the Top Scorer trophy. The Best Goalkeeper went to Mexico’s Diego Villaseñor. In the final matchday in women’s group, perfect Mexico confirmed their place at the Games with a 6-2 win over their hosts. On top of that, their players Fatima Leyva and Daniela Paulin were named the tournament MVP and Best Goalkeeper. El Salvador finished the competition winless but Carolina shared the Top Scorer award with USA’s Witteman, as the Stars and Stripes took second with a 7-1 win over Bahamas, who finished third. It is worth giving a special mention to the women’s sides of El Salvador and USA, who truly impressed on their debut appearances on the beach soccer stage. Welcome to the beach soccer family!