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MY BEACH SOCCER 
La Selecta also scooped most of the individual awards after winning the final on Sunday
The Concacaf region has a new beach soccer champion – El Salvador! They went undefeated in each of their games to cruise to their first Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship title since 2009.
El Salvador met USA in the final at the Complex Fedefutbol-Plycem in Alajuela, Costa Rica on Sunday, where they took an early lead, thanks to a penalty converted by Robles.
Both sides had already done enough to secure a place at the 2021 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Russia, but with the continental crown up for grabs, the final turned into a fierce battle as USA kept pace with their rivals, whom they had painfully denied a World Cup place in the semi-final of the previous edition.
However, four of the match’s 10 goals came from Exon Perdomo which helped El Salvador edge Francis Farberoff’s men to lift the trophy, while the Stars & Stripes finish second for the second edition running.
In the playoff for third place, previous champions Mexico were defeated 5-2 by a spirited Guatemala, thanks to goals from Wilson Gonzalez (2) Juan Flores, Angel Saenz and Samuel Petrez.
Guatemala have competed in five editions of the Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship, and 2021 is the first time they have finished in the top four, while Mexico register their joint-worst finish to take fourth, a finishing position they hadn’t occupied since 2006.
La Azul y Blanco were imperious throughout the campaign and scored between six and 15 goals in each of their six matches, racking up a grand total of 50.
This was demonstrated in the Top Scorer chart, which Francisco Velasquez topped with 11, and behind him came Rubén Batres with 10 and in third place was Exon Perdomo with nine goals, four of which came in the final against USA.
Velasquez is now the all-time leading scorer in the history of the CBSC with 56 goals.
The champions also scooped the most of the individual awards, as Rubén Batres (SLV) won the Golden Ball (Best Player) and Eliodoro Portillo (SLV) won the Golden Glove (Best Goalkeeper), while Antonio Chávez (USA) won the Best Young Player.
The 2021 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship has named El Salvador and USA as the sixth and seventh teams to reach the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Russia, but now all eyes turn to Africa, to see which teams will join them from the CAF Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations…
RESULTS
23/05 (FINAL DAY)
Mexico 2–5 Guatemala (3rd-place playoff)
USA 4–6 El Salvador (FINAL)
FINAL STANDINGS
Champions – El Salvador
2nd – USA
3rd – Guatemala
4th – Mexico
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
Golden Ball (Best Player) – Rubén Batres (SLV)
Golden Shoe (Top Scorer) – Francisco Velasquez (SLV)
Golden Glove (Best Goalkeeper) – Eliodoro Portillo (SLV)
Best Young Player – Antonio Chávez (USA)
FairPlay Award – Mexico
Photo: La Selecta
