U.S. U-15 Boys National Team beats Canada to win Group B at Concacaf Championship

ALAJUELA, Costa Rica – The U.S. Under-15 Boys National Team won 2-1 against Canada in their third match of group play in the 2025 Concacaf Boys’ U-15 Championship on Thursday.

With the result, the USA finished on top of Group B and will now face Panama in the semifinal on Saturday, Aug. 9 (11 a.m. ET; Concacaf YouTube).

The U-15 BNT’s participation in this tournament reflects U.S. Soccer’s ongoing commitment to its U.S. Way, which emphasizes enhanced programming for Youth National Teams. The goal is to create more opportunities for young players to progress through the development pathway and ultimately represent the senior National Team on the global stage.

The USA opened the scoring in the first half with a sixth-minute goal from Liam Stribling. Captain Vicente Garcia delivered a strong assist from the left side of the field across to Stribling on the right. The Nashville FC forward completed a header, fading away and finishing past the goalkeeper.

Timoni Gbalajobi doubled the USA’s lead in the 18th minute, with a goal off a feed from Niccolo Vafiades. The midfielder collected the ball near the corner then played it directly to Gbalajobi, who finished to the right side as the keeper fell.

Canada got back in the match via a penalty kick in the 33rd minute. The spot kick was earned when the USA’s Finn McCraney was just judged to have upended Canada’s Khaleel Small just on the edge of the area. On the spot kick, Canada’s Alexander Romanov sent U.S. ‘keeper Jason Nemo Jr. to the left while he powered his take straight up the middle to make it 2-1 just before halftime.

A tense second half didn’t lead to any more goals, and the USA closed out group play with the 2-1 win against its northern neighbors.

UP NEXT: With the result, the USA tops Group B and will face Panama in the semifinal on Saturday, Aug. 9 at 1 p.m. ET (11 a.m. local). The game will be streamed live on Concacaf’s YouTube channel.

– U.S. MEN’S U-15 BOYS’ NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT –

Match: United States Under-15 Boys’ National Team vs. Canada
Date: August 7, 2025
Competition: 2025 Concacaf Under-15 Boys’ Championship
Venue: Ruta Nacional Secundaria 147; Alajuela, Costa Rica
Attendance: 50
Kickoff: 11 a.m. local time (1 p.m. ET)
Weather: 84 degrees, sunny

Lineups: 

USA: 1-Jason Nemo Jr, 4-Owen Jorgensen, 6-Christopher Morales, 7-Alex Hernandez, 8-Niccolo Viafiades (10-Vinny Garcia, 46), 9-Timoni Gbalajobi (13-Kane Kraus, 55), 11-Robert Turdean (Capt.), 14-Luca Antongirolami, 15-Finn McCraney, 16-Nathan Tchoumba (5-Christian Guillen Lopez, 62) 18-Liam Striblling (17-Ikenna Chidebe, 46)

Substitutes not used: 3-Justus Jones, 12-Emmanuel Arias
Not Dressed: 2-Jeremiah Alexander-Munoz
Head coach: Ross Brady

CAN: 12-Jolan Faury, 4-Israel Emo, 5 Manav Badwal, 6-Juliano Barbieri (2-Luis Ramirez, 53), 7-John Alexis (3-John Chukwu, 46) 9-Alexander Romanov (11-Seri Baye 66), 10-Raffi Budd (Capt.) (8-Luca Todorovic, 66), 13-Rafael Kouame (18-Ethan Reid, 53), 14-Aryan Parmar (17-Hunter Macgowan, 46), 15-Henry Hudspith, 16-Khaleel Small

Substitutes not used: none
Head coach: Shane Lammie

Stats Summary: USA / CAN
Shots: 12 / 5
Shots on Goal: 8 / 3
Saves: 4 / 4
Corner Kicks: 9 / 6
Fouls: 7 / 16
Offside: 2 / 1

Officials: 
Referee: Julio Guity (HON)
Assistant Referee 1: Kymberly Barrios (GUA)
Assistant Referee 2: Guillaume Parkins (VGB)
Fourth Official: Isabel Barillas (SLV)