TOP SEED: U.S. men down Cuba at Concacaf U-19 Championship
Overview:
The U.S. Under-19 men’s national team delivered its best performance of the 2026 CONCACAF U-20 Men’s Championship, winning Group A following a 5-0 victory over fifth-ranked Cuba on Friday night.
PUEBLA, Mexico — The U.S. Under-19 men’s national team delivered its best performance of the 2026 Concacaf U-20 Men’s Championship, winning Group A following a 5-0 victory over fifth-ranked Cuba on Friday night.
In the final group stage match at Estadio Universitario BUAP, he Americans secured the tournament’s top seed heading into the quarterfinal with a 3-0-0 mark and a plus-11 goal differential.
The USA squad got off to a fast start with a second-minute goal from forward Jaidyn Contreras, the fastest for the U.S. in this tournament.
Contreras faked a shot and made a quick move to lose his defender and delivered a cross to the far post, finding forward Ruben Ramos, who got in behind the backline and redirected a header in for a1-0 lead. Ramos, who scored for the third consecutive match, is tied for the top goal scorer.
Continuing to apply pressure to the Cuban defense, midfielder Alex Shaw pounced on a misplaced ball, hitting a powerful low drive on target just out of the reach of diving goalkeeper Yurixander Zayas.
The first real test for goalkeeper Kayne Rizvanovich was a long pass over the top to Cuban forward Alexandro Rojas, who set up teammate Yankarlos Iglesias for a clear shot on goal, which Rizvanovich saved.
Cuba recovered the ball and swung it around for another shot that defender Braden Dunham blocked.
Needing to score at least four goals to overtake Mexico outright as the overall top seed, the USA continued its relentless attack, generating back-to-back shots forcing key saves from Yurixander Zayas just before halftime.
The second half had two hard challenges for the U.S. go to VAR review but resulted in no penalty kicks after extensive reviews by referee Jorge Leira.
The Americans remained persistent in their attack and found their third goal of the match when Contreras delivered a near-post corner onto the head of defender Brandon Dayes, who had just subbed on 10 minutes earlier. Dayes outjumped a Cuban defender and head the ball to the far corner for a 3-0 lead in the 75th minute.
Only three minutes later, the Americans’ attack continued with forward Din Klapija, who passed to Xanti Oyharçabal. He then set up Joshua Torquato running toward the top of the box. Torquato hit a driven left-footed shot into the bottom right corner for the fourth goal.
To cap off the night, Dylan Vanney, with a give-and-go to Oyharçabal at the top of the box, dribbled deeper into the box. Using his body to shield off defenders, Vanney guided the ball into the net in the 82nd minute for the final goal.
The U.S. is scheduled to play the eighth-ranked team following the conclusion of the group stage that will be determined after Saturday’s Group C matches. The first knockout round match will be played on Aug. 4 at 10 p.m. ET in Puebla, Mexico at Estadio Universitario BUAP.
Fans can follow the team’s performance and watch the broadcast in English on FOX Broadcast networks with select matches on the Concacaf YouTube channel. Fans can follow the action on ussoccer.com as well as U.S. Soccer Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.