CHICAGO (April 8, 2019)—The USA will face Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda and Bonaire in Group C play at the 2019 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship from May 13-19 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The top two teams at the tournament will advance to represent Concacaf at the 2019 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Asunscion, Paraguay this fall. The USA is seeking its first Beach Soccer World Cup berth since 2013. Concacaf (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) conducted the final draw for its upcoming championship tournament today from Puerto Vallarta.
The U.S. will kick off the tournament against Bonaire on Wednesday, May 13, face Antigua and Barbuda on May 15 and wrap up group play versus Bahamas on May 16. After round-robin play, the top two teams from each of the four groups will advance to the knockout round, where the tournament’s two finalists will advance to November’s 2019 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.
2019 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship
USA – Group C Schedule
|
Date |
Opponent |
Kickoff (ET) |
Venue |
|
May 13 |
Bonaire |
5:45 p.m. |
Puerto Vallarta |
|
May 15 |
Antigua and Barbuda |
4:30 p.m. |
Puerto Vallarta |
|
May 16 |
Bahamas |
7 p.m. |
Puerto Vallarta |
Mexico, Panama, USA and El Salvador were placed in Pot 1 for the draw as the competition’s four highest-ranked teams.
|
Group A |
Group B |
Group C |
Group D |
|
Mexico |
Panama |
USA |
El Salvador |
|
Costa Rica |
Trinidad and Tobago |
Bahamas |
Guadeloupe |
|
Jamaica |
Turks and Caicos |
Antigua and Barbuda |
Belize |
|
Guatemala |
U.S. Virgin Islands |
Bonaire |
Guyana |
The Beach National Team previously played in Puerto Vallarta in October 2017 at the Visit Puerto Vallarta Cup. There, the USA finished a narrow second-place after dropping a tight final match 5-4 to host Mexico. Puerto Vallarta also hosted the 2010 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship, where the USA finished third.
Six teams have already qualified for the 2019 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup: host Paraguay, along with Japan, Oman and the United Arab Emirates via the 2019 AFC Beach Soccer Championship, held in Thailand last month, as well as Nigeria and Senegal from December’s 2018 Africa Beach Soccer Cup of Nations in Egypt. The remaining 10 teams will qualify over the course of the year.