THE United States exploded for all the goals in the second half to earn a 5-0 win over Jamaica in the 2017 CONCACAF Under-17 football Championship opener on Sunday at the Estadio Maracana.
The result provisionally moved the Americans into first place in Group C, with two-time defending champions Mexico and El Salvador scheduled to square off later in the day.
After an entertaining – but scoreless – first half, the U.S. went ahead 1-0 in the 53rd minute, when Chris Durkin headed in from the edge of the six-yard box off George Acosta’s left-sided corner kick.
From that point on, it became the Ayo Akinola show. The 17-year-old Toronto FC product assisted on Tim Weah’s goal in the 77th minute to make it 2-0 and then struck for a brace, netting in the 88th minute and from distance spectacularly in the second minute of stoppage time.
The outstanding Josh Sargent assisted on Akinola’s first goal and extended the advantage to 3-0 himself in the 87th minute.
Both sides return to action tomorrow as Jamaica will look to bounce back against El Salvador, followed by a meeting between Mexico and the USA. (Sportsmax)