Dominican Republic deny Young Reggae Boyz U20 World Cup advance

Jamaica’s Young Reggae Boyz U20 were knocked out of the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship 2-0 by Dominican Republic in their quarter-final action inside Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano in San Pedro Sula, Honduras on Wednesday.

Angel Montes de Oca Genao scored the all-important goal in the ninth minute and it was good enough to down a disorganised Jamaican outfit which struggled for any semblance of quality play throughout the competition.

The loss denied the Young Reggae Boyz a chance to qualify for their second FIFA Under-20 World Championship, having first done so in 2001. But it provided their Caribbean neighbours with their first qualification at any age level into the FIFA World Cup finals.

The other countries to advance to the semi-finals and book their places at next year’s global event in Indonesia, are Guatemala, who shocked Mexico 2-01; Honduras, who edged Panama 2-1 and the USA, who blanked Costa Rica 2-0.

The four semi-finalists qualify for Indonesia and the two finalists will qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games.

Incidentally, the three qualifiers from Group D, Honduras, Costa Rica and Jamaica, all advanced to the quarter-finals. In the preliminary phase, Jamaica drew 1-1 with Costa Rica, even as they missed a penalty. They lost 5-0 to Honduras before defeating Antigua and Barbuda 2-0 to advance as the third-placed team from the group.

In the round of 16 match, the Young Reggae Boyz laboured to a 2-1 win over Haiti, who were reduced to nine players late in the game, having first lost a player midway the first half.

In Friday’s semi-finals, the USA face Honduras, while Guatemala and Dominican Republic face off in the second game.