2016 CONCACAF Girls’ U-15 Championship: Scores, Analysis

This year’s CONCACAF Girls’ U-15 Championship wrapped up last Sunday with four Caribbean nations making the quarter-finals. Here’s my mini report…

The 2016 CONCACAF Girls’ U-15 Championship official logo. (pic credit: CONCACAF)

This was the second edition of the CONCACAF Girls’ U-15 Championship having been created in 2014 when the infamous Jeffrey Webb was in charge of the confederation. Out of the Caribbean representatives, Haiti went furthest last time out by earning second place after losing the final to Canada on penalties.

This year’s event took place from 9-21 August in Orlando, USA. 16/23 competitors hailed from the Caribbean, ranging from Jamaica to Anguilla.

Note: The Caribbean countries are highlighted in bold. [Q] means qualified and () indicates the number of points that country has accumulated.

Group A

1. USA [Q] (12) 2. Mexico [Q] (9) 3. Haiti (6) 4. Trinidad & Tobago (3) 5. Dominican Republic (0)

09/08/16: USA 22-0 Trinidad & Tobago, Mexico 2-0 Haiti.

10/08/16: Mexico 0-1 USA, Trinidad & Tobago 4-0 Dominican Republic.

12/08/16: Dominican Republic 0-9 Mexico, USA 1-0 Haiti.

13/08/16: Haiti 5-0 Trinidad & Tobago, Dominican Republic 0-7 USA.

15/08/16: Haiti 5-0 Dominican Republic, Trinidad & Tobago 0-11 Mexico.

Group B

1. Canada [Q] (12) 2. Costa Rica [Q] (7) 3. Jamaica (6) 4. El Salvador (4) 5. Venezuela (0)

09/08/16: Canada 6-0 Venezuela, Costa Rica 2-1 Jamaica.

10/08/16: Costa Rica 0-2 Canada, Venezuela 1-2 El Salvador.

11/08/16: El Salvador 3-3 Costa Rica, Canada 5-0 Jamaica.

13/08/16: Jamaica 2-1 Venezuela, El Salvador 0-6 Canada.

15/08/16: Jamaica 4-0 El Salvador, Venezuela 1-4 Costa Rica.

Group C

1. Puerto Rico [Q] (12) 2. St Lucia [Q] (9) 3. Nicaragua (4) 4. Grenada (4) 5. St Vincent & the Grenadines (0)

9/08/16: Puerto Rico 4-1 St Lucia, Nicaragua 1-1 Grenada.

10/08/16: Nicaragua 1-4 Puerto Rico, St Lucia 5-1 St Vincent & the Grenadines.

12/08/16: St Vincent & the Grenadines 0-1 Nicaragua, Puerto Rico 7-1 Grenada.

14/08/16: Grenada 1-2 St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines 1-5 Puerto Rico.

15/08/16: Grenada 3-0 St Vincent & the Grenadines, St Lucia 1-0 Nicaragua.

Group D

1. Curacao [Q] (9) 2. Barbados (6) 3. Anguilla (3) 4. US Virgin Islands (0)

11/08/16: Barbados 9-0 US Virgin Islands, Curacao 3-0 Anguilla.

12/08/16: US Virgin Islands 0-6 Curacao, Anguilla 0-2 Barbados.

14/08/16: Curacao 3-0 Barbados, Anguilla 2-0 US Virgin Islands.

Group E

1. Bermuda [Q] (9) 2. Cayman Islands (6) 3. The Bahamas (3) 4. Antigua & Barbuda (0)

11/08/16: Bermuda 3-0 Cayman Islands, Antigua & Barbuda 1-4 The Bahamas.

13/08/16: Cayman Islands 3-0 Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas 1-3 Bermuda.

14/08/16: Antigua & Barbuda 1-7 Bermuda, The Bahamas 0-3 Cayman Islands.

Knockouts 

Quarter-finals – 17/08/16: USA 12-0 Bermuda, Canada 10-0 Curacao, Costa Rica 5-0 St Lucia, Puerto Rico 1-10 Mexico.

Semi-finals – 19/08/16: USA 5-0 Costa Rica, Canada 3-1 Mexico.

3rd place play-off and final – 21/08/16: Costa Rica 1-5 Mexico, USA 2-0 Canada. USA crowned champions.

Overall Analysis:

Unfortunately I didn’t come across any online streaming for the Championship so the level of analysis isn’t hugely detailed. The information within this article has been collected from a variety of sources based across the islands.

Congratulations to Bermuda, Curacao, St Lucia and Puerto Rico for progressing to the last eight. The results were undesirable but the quartet can take positives from their ties. What the quarter-finals reemphasized was the gulf that still exists between North and Central America and the Caribbean – whether it be at Girls’ U-15 or senior level. In terms of raw talent, the Caribbean is probably on top. But the American, Canadian, Mexican and Costa Rican girls are beneficiaries of good quality environments back home which enables them to perform to a better standard in competitions such as these. At the moment, the structures – leagues, regular training, cultural attitudes and so on – aren’t always in place for young Caribbean girls to overcome their North and Central American counterparts.

Well done to all 16 Caribbean competitors. Onwards and upwards!

By Nathan Carr

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Thank you for reading! Feel free to leave any constructive feedback in the comments box below. Meanwhile, you can get in touch with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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