The US Under-17 national team kicked off the 2017 CONCACAF U-17 Championship in style.
Led by two goals and an assist from Toronto FC II’s Ayo Akinola, the Americans rolled to a 5-0 win over Jamaica on Sunday at Estadio Maracaná de Panamá in Panama City, Panama.
After a scoreless first half, D.C. United’s Chris Durkin headed home the game’s first goal on a George Acosta corner kick in the 56th minute. Tim Weah made it 2-0 on Akinola’s assist before captain Josh Sargent put the US ahead by three in the 87th minute.
Akinola put an exclamation mark on the victory with two late goals, the first on a long Sargent through ball and the second on this powerful blast:
GOAL United States, Ayo AKINOLA No. 7 | @IstTheJFF @ussoccer#CU17PANpic.twitter.com/0IF5TeOLfI
— CONCACAF (@CONCACAF) April 23, 2017
The U.S. return to action vs. rival Mexico on Wednesday before closing Group C play against El Salvador on Saturday. The top two teams in each of the three groups will advance to a second group phase. From there, the top two teams in those groups will qualify for the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup, which will take place from October 6-28 in India.
