Costa Rica has won the CONCACAF Futsal Championship for the third time in a row! In the grand finals, they ousted the United States with a 3-2 victory. Congratulations to the players, coaching staff, and everyone involved in this success. The hosts Guatemala finished the tournament in a third-place after defeating the Panama team.
>>> (HIGHLIGHTS) USA and Costa Rica for CONCACAF title
Costa Rica 3-2 United States
A hard-fought match, deserving of the final, in which Costa Rica came out celebrating their fourth continental title (2000, 2012, 2016, 2021), the third one in a row. All of the goals in the match were scored in the first half.
Lucho Gonzalez's goal gave the United States the lead in the opening stages of the match. However, Costa Rica was quick to strike back and turn things around completely thanks to two goals made by Daniel Gomez and Juan Cordero.
However, a fantastic flick by Zach Reget leveled the match. This goal is worth seeing one extra time.
⚽️ WHAT A GOAL! Fantastic goal by Zach Reget to tie the game. | @USMNT 🆚 @fedefutbolcrc #CFC21⚽️ WHAT A GOAL! Fantastic goal by Zach Reget to tie the game. | U.S. Soccer 🆚 Federación Costarricense de Fútbol #CFC21
Posted by Concacaf on Sunday, 9 May 2021
Nevertheless, just before the break, Daniel Gomez scored his second goal of the evening to put Costa Rica in front once again.
This eventually proved to be a deciding goal as neither team scored more goals in the second half. Costa Rica will be jubilated with their performance in this tournament, recording all victories, scoring most goals, and conceding the fewest goals of all teams.
The United States can also look back at this tournament with pride as they were undefeated up until the final where they played a good match against an experienced opponent. They are also back in the Futsal World Cup after 2008, and there are many positives to take after this year's CFC.
Panama 2-3 Guatemala
With the same result as in the final, the hosts Guatemala defeated Panama to clinch third place in this tournament, although it took extra-time drama for them to secure it. This is Guatemala's second third place in a row, after finishing second in 2012 and clinching the title in 2008.
Roberto Alvarado opened the scoring for Guatemala in 2' of the match and the result did not change anymore in the first half. Abdiel Ortiz leveled the score in the second half, but Walter Enriquez put hosts back in front immediately afterward.
Panama's Carlos Perez equalized once again for his team before full time forcing the match into extra time. Fernando Campaignac was the man of the moment in the late second half of extra time who scored the deciding goal for the hosts that saw them clinch the third position.
The CONCACAF Futsal Championship Awards
As usual, plenty of awards were given in the ceremony following the final whistle in the final match.
Milinton Tijerino of Costa Rica earned the Best Player Award for his performances in the 2021 CFC, while Tomas Pondeca of the United States took home the Young Player Award. Panama's Carlos Perez scored the most goals in the tournament and he clinched the Top Scorer Award. Costa Rica's goalkeeper Cesar Vargas clinched the Best Goalkeeper Award and Costa Rica won the Fair Play Award. Check out more about the winners here!
With this, we conclude our reports from the CONCACAF Futsal Championship. Many positives came out of this tournament as it showed that these regions are getting more and more attracted to futsal (where they already are not). These national teams definitely need more official matches and tournaments to keep the momentum going forward.
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