Mexico defeated Trinidad and Tobago by a 2-1 score to win Group A and qualify to the 2026 U17 World Cup. Mexico was once again the better team from the start and although at times they played really well, they failed to open the scoring until late in the 2nd half although the victory was totally deserved. Mexico won all four matches and now will play for a 9th straight time as they try to once again be victorious in that tournament for a third time.
The 1st half started with Mexico having made some changes to the regular starting 11, the most notable being goalkeeper Johan Cuenca getting hist first start in the tournament. Mexico was dominating the possession and pinning down the host but were not creating much danger. Jonathan de la Fuente got off a right footed shot from outside the area that was easily saved by Trinidad’s goalkeeper, Levi Williams. Alberto Cisneros got off a great right footed shot from outside the area that forced a marvelous save from Williams. After a great run into the area form Cisneros, he failed to get off the shot at the precise time and when he did, it was deflected wide. Cesar Calvillo got off a great left footed shot from outside the area that Williams saved but left the ball there for Cisneros to get to it but incredibly his shot from close range would go wide in a terrible miss. A cross into the area was headed from close range by Calvillo but his header went right to Williams. After Luis Trujillo got into the area, he got brought down by a sliding tackle from Akel Vesprey in what should have been a Penalty Kick but incredibly nothing was given. In the ensuing corner kick, the cross got headed past Williams and it went thru the line but Cisneros just narrowly missed getting to it in what would have been an empty net goal. Edy Lugo got off a left footed shot from outside the area that was saved by Williams and no Mexican player could get to the rebound before it was cleared. The halftime whistle blew and although Mexico had dominated, the had wasted too many chance and were kept scoreless for a half for the first time in this tournament.
The 2nd half started with Mexico subbing out Luis Trujillo and Eliud Sanchez for Adan Sanchez and Gelson Gutierrez. A great pass from Calvillo would fall for Sanchez but just as he was going to get off a volley, the ball was cleared by a Trinidad defender. Lugo got off a left footed shot from way outside the area that went well wide. Mexico subbed out Edy Lugo for Noe Mota. Trinidad and Tobago subbed out Jaylon Roberts for Sebastian James. Mexico wasn’t creating as much danger but were still dominating the match completely. Mexico subbed out Carlos Calvillo for Jesus Orduño. Off a counter, Adasa Richardson got into the area but a sliding tackle from Andre Godinez would clear the ball off his feet. De la Fuente got off a shot from outside the area that went wide. Mexico would sub out Alberto Cisneros for Ricardo Gonzalez. Trinidad and Tobago would sub out Kanye Glasgow and Antuan Louison for Jeremai Nanton and Daniel Lewis. From outside the area, Orduño got off a left footed shot that went wide. A cross into the area looked like a good chance but Orduño whiffed with his left footed shot. After a great lobbed pass by Sanchez into the area and to Jesus Orduño, he would get off a right footed shot past Williams to finally score and break the deadlock, giving Mexico the very deserved 1-0 lead. Trinidad and Tobago subbed out J’meke Watkins and Donovan Drayton for Jasai Theophilus and Finn De Freitas. A very good cross from Gutierrez would find Adan Sanchez, who got off a great header past Williams to score and give Mexico the 2-0 lead that effectively killed the match and had Mexico qualified to the U17 World Cup. After Mota got the ball in the area, he had a good chance but his right footed shot was saved by Williams. After a mistake allowed a counter, Richardson got into the area but Godinez dropped him after clearing the ball where incredibly a Penalty Kick was given to the hosts. It was a bad call especially after a clearer PK for Mexico wasn’t given in the 1st half. Asada Richardson stepped up to take the PK and his right footed shot went past Cuenca to score and place the score at 2-1. Mexico would try to answer immediately when Orduño got off a shot that Williams saved but gave up a rebound that fell to Orduño again but his second shot went wide. It was the last dangerous chance as the final whistle blew and Mexico defeated the hosts and deservedly won the group, qualifying for the 2026 U17 World Cup.
Mexico close out a great tournament by winning their four matches in the U17 World Cup qualifiers played in Trinidad and Tobago. The first day result in which Barbados defeated the host team by a 1-0 score, was incredibly helpful for Mexico, as Trinidad and Tobago needed to defeat Mexico by a 5-0 score to qualify and eliminated Mexico. After a 1st half where Mexico dominated and Trinidad and Tobago sat back, it was clear that it wasn’t going to happen and Mexico was going go to Qatar. Still a win is the better result and they keep at it until they were able to score twice and deserved a 2-0 victory if not for a bad decision for the referee. Still Coach Jurgen Castañeda will need a lot of work for this team to be a contender as Mexico dominated the matches but against extremely weak opposition. They will not face any team as close to this level in the World Cup (unless they get drawn with an OFC Team), and a lot of the players showed medium level, far from the level they need to transcend in the competition. They will have a lot of time until they start the World Cup later in the year but they will need to work all this time to look for another historic performance in this category.
