In the CONCACAF Road to W Gold Cup qualifiers, Caribbean Football Union’s 7th-ranked team, St Kitts & Nevis, faced their fourth consecutive defeat when they suffered a resounding 19-0 loss to CONCACAF’s 3rd-ranked team, Costa Rica, in a match on Monday held in Basseterre, St Kitts & Nevis.
María Paula Salas was the star of the show, scoring an incredible seven goals in the match.
St Kitts & Nevis, striving to avoid relegation to League B in League A, Group C, faced a tough challenge on their home turf. The visiting Costa Ricans put 10 different players on the scoresheet, securing three crucial points to top the group ahead of Haiti.
Onslaught began early
Costa Rica’s onslaught began early, with Salas netting two goals in the second and fifth minutes, separated by an Alexa Herrera strike in the third minute. Salas continued her scoring spree with two more goals in the span of a minute, taking the lead to 5-0. The first half ended with Costa Rica leading 12-0, leaving the home team in a difficult position.
Herrera, Sheika Scott, Raquel Rodriguez, and others joined the goal parade, ensuring that goal difference wouldn’t be a deciding factor in the group standings. Salas completed her astonishing seven-goal performance with a header in the 49th minute, further extending Costa Rica’s lead.
The final score stood at 19-0, with Melissa Herrera, Alexandra Pinell, Mariela Campos, Tanisha Fonseca, Emilie Valenciano, and others adding their names to the scoresheet. Costa Rica’s dominant victory secured their spot in the group stage of the 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup, while Haiti finished second and will advance to the Preliminary stage.
Other football match highlights
- Curaçao sealed top spot in League C, Group D with a 6-1 victory against Cayman Islands.
- Belize celebrated finishing first in Group A with a 1-0 victory against Aruba.
- Bonaire condemned Turks & Caicos to the bottom of the same group with a 2-0 win on home soil.
- These results marked the conclusion of the group stage in the CONCACAF Road to W Gold Cup qualifiers, with several teams earning promotions and advancing to higher divisions.
