GK Chris Toth Called to US Beach National Team for 2017 CONCACAF Championships

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. – U.S. Beach Soccer National Team head coach Eddie Soto has named a 12-player roster for the 2017 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship, which will run from Feb. 20-27 in Nassau, Bahamas. The tournament will serve as CONCACAF’s regional qualifying tournament for the 2017 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, set to kick off on April 27 also in Nassau.

The 12-player qualifying roster includes eight players who took part in the team’s last major tournament, the 2016 Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup, held in Dubai last December.

Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Juan Cervantes (Los Angeles, Calif.), Christopher Toth (San Marcos, Calif.)
DEFENDERS (3): Oscar Reyes (Santa Ana, Calif.), Jason Santos (Los Gatos, Calif.), Lewie Valentine (Kailua-Kona, Hawaii)
FORWARDS (7): Alessandro Canale (Venice, Calif.), Andrew Feld (Carlsbad, Calif.), Ryan Futagaki (Gahanna, Ohio), Irving Garcia (Phoenix, Ariz.), Jason Leopoldo (Thousand Oaks, Calif.), Nick Perera (Carlsbad, Calif.), Matthew Van Zytveld (Grand Haven, Mich.) 

The format of the CONCACAF Championship consists of the sixteen teams being divided into a group stage containing four groups of four teams each. The top two finishers from each group will advance to the quarterfinals, while the third- and fourth-placed teams will continue playing in placement matches over the final three match dates. Two additional CONCACAF teams will join host Bahamas as the three CONCACAF representatives in the Beach Soccer World Cup. The finalists will earn the tickets, unless host Bahamas – already qualified for the World Cup – or non-FIFA member Guadeloupe advances to the final, in which case the next-highest finisher would earn the spot. 

The USA is in Group C of the tournament, along with the U.S. Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and Trinidad and Tobago. They will face the U.S. Virgin Islands Feb. 20, Antigua and Barbuda on Feb. 22 and finish out the group stage with a Feb. 23 matchup against Trinidad and Tobago.

Group A is composed by tournament host Bahamas, Belize, Guyana, and Jamaica. Group B features Barbados, Canada, Guadeloupe and Mexico, while Group D is composed of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Panama, and Turks and Caicos.

All U.S. matches will be broadcast on beachsoccer.com.

USA’s 2017 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship Schedule

Group C

DATE
MATCH
TIME (ET)/RESULT
VENUE
Feb. 20
Trinidad & Tobago vs. Antigua & Barbuda
3 p.m.
Malcolm Beach Soccer Facility; Nassau, Bahamas
Feb. 20
United States vs. US Virgin Islands
6:45 p.m.
Malcolm Beach Soccer Facility; Nassau, Bahamas
Feb. 22
US Virgin Islands vs. Trinidad & Tobago
1:45 p.m.
Malcolm Beach Soccer Facility; Nassau, Bahamas
Feb. 22
Antigua & Barbuda vs. United States
6:45 p.m.
Malcolm Beach Soccer Facility; Nassau, Bahamas
Feb. 23
Antigua & Barbuda vs. US Virgin Islands
3 p.m.
Malcolm Beach Soccer Facility; Nassau, Bahamas
Feb. 23
United States vs. Trinidad & Tobago
8 p.m.
Malcolm Beach Soccer Facility; Nassau, Bahamas