El Salvador and Costa Rica kick off 2025 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship | OneFootball

MIAMI – The 2025 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship kicks off with Group A in the spotlight on Tuesday at Malcolm Park Beach Soccer Facility in Nassau, Bahamas.

Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico begin their respective campaigns with the intention of finishing top two in the group.

The two best teams in each group will progress to the semifinals. The two finalists in the tournament will qualify for the 2025 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.

El Salvador vs. Costa Rica

El Salvador seeks to begin its road to a sixth participation at a FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup against Costa Rica, who seeks its third participation.

The two Central American nations renew their rivalry in the sand with a perfect start to the tournament on the line. Stakes have been high in previous encounters, including the 2009 final when La Selecta won its only Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship to date. The two also faced off in the 2010 and 2015 semifinals, each taking a victory on their way to the final.

The most recent meeting in the Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship came in the previous edition, in the 2023 group stage, as El Salvador triumphed 7-1 to take the top spot in Group A while Costa Rica advanced as second. Jason Urbina and Francisco Velásquez each collected a brace in that encounter and return for the 2025 edition.

Mexico vs. Guatemala

Mexico seeks to begin its road to an eighth participation in a FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup against Guatemala, which seeks its first.

Guatemala came closest to reaching its first Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship final at the 2021 edition when it reached the semifinals. In that tournament, Los Chapines met Mexico in the third-place match, with the Central Americans winning bronze with a 5-2 win.

The two also met in the group stage of the previous edition, where both advanced to the knockout stage, with Mexico as first and Guatemala third in Group B. Mexico won 6-3 on that occasion in Nassau, the site of their next meeting. Alejandro García and Gabriel Macías, two of Mexico’s scorers in that match, return for the 2025 edition, as do Berny Marroquín and José Lem, who scored for Guatemala.