El Salvador defeats USA on penalties to advance to Final and World Cup | OneFootball

NASSAU, The Bahamas — El Salvador advanced to the 2025 Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship Final, defeating the United States 7-6 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in regulation in the semifinals on Saturday at the Malcolm Park Beach Soccer Facility in Nassau, The Bahamas.

El Salvador qualified for the 2025 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup as one of the two finalists in the tournament. The Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship final and third-place match will take place on Sunday.

Chris Toth was the figure in the first period, with stops in the opening moments. Halfway through the period, the U.S. goalkeeper denied Elmer Robles from a bicycle kick attempt.

Emerson Cerna broke the deadlock in the 8’ 2P to El Salvador in the lead. Agustín Ruiz provided the assist to advance a play that began with the goalkeeper Eliodoro Portillo.

Antonio Chavez leveled the score in the 12’ 3P with a right-footed hit from distance. Alessandro Canale had an opportunity to take the lead for the U.S. in the final minute of the third period, but his free kick attempt was just wide of the left post.

The two sides would remain even through the final minutes and extra time, forcing a penalty kick shoutout to decide the winner.

Andrés Navas and Francisco Velásquez traded goals to begin the shootout. Both nations missed their second attempts, with Gabe Silveira denied by the right post and Andrés Cruz just wide of the left post.

Nico Perea, Alessandro Canale, and Ricardo Carvalho converted their attempts for the U.S., while Heber Ramos, Andersson Castro, and Melvin González did the same for El Salvador.

The teams went to sudden death, converting on back-to-back attempts. In the eighth round of kicks, Conner Rezende was blocked by El Salvador goalkeeper Erick Nájera.

Elmer Robles stepped up to the spot and converted the winning goal that sent La Selecta to the tournament final, earning the country its sixth FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup appearance.