Liverpool striker suffers tournament heartbreak after perfect run to final

Liverpool academy striker Keyrol Figueroa was left frustrated after the United States lost the final of the CONCACAF U20 Championship to Mexico on Sunday.

Figueroa is primed to step up to Liverpool’s U21s squad this season, but has spent his summer on international duty with the USA U20s.

The 17-year-old was called up to Michael Nsien’s squad for the first time, with the tournament held in Mexico and comprised of 12 nations from North America, Central America and the Caribbean.

Though he was not a first-choice starter, Figueroa made three appearances on the road to the final, with the US winning every game.

A perfect run in the group stage saw victories over Jamaica (9-0), Cuba (4-0) and Costa Rica (1-0), with Figueroa starting against Cuba and coming off the bench against Costa Rica.

He was then introduced at half-time as the US beat Guatemala 1-0 in the quarter-finals, before going unused in a 2-1 semi-final win over Panama.

The teenager was again on the bench throughout the final against hosts Mexico, which saw the US go agonisingly close to triumph.

? ¡Qué final! ¡?? @miseleccionsubs gana su décimocuarto título del #U20Championship en casa! pic.twitter.com/CisenLnwK7

— Concacaf (@Concacaf) August 5, 2024

Nimfasha Berchimas put the US 1-0 up four minutes into the second half with a long-range curler, and it wasn’t until the last touch of the ball – into six minutes of stoppage time – that Mexico equalised.

That set up extra time at Club Leon’s Nou Camp, with Mexico eventually sealing the win with a header from Mateo Levy – again, right at the end of added time.

It left Figueroa and his team-mates heartbroken, having gone so close to retaining the trophy the US won in 2022.

The US have enjoyed recent success at the CONCACAF U20 Championship, winning it for the first time ever in 2017, retaining it in 2018 and lifting it again in 2022, having finished runners-up on seven occasions since the 1960s.

Now, though, Figueroa will be left to return to Liverpool after a short break, with the focus turning back to club duties.

Whether he joins the U21s immediately or links back up with the U18s for the start of the campaign remains to be seen, but he is likely to move into Barry Lewtas‘ group this season.

Figueroa signed his first professional contract with the club in May, joined by his father, ex-Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, as he put pen to paper at the AXA Training Centre.