Olger Escobar Shines Bright At Concacaf U-20 Championship
The 17-year-old Revolution II forward had a good showing with Guatemala during the recent Concacaf U-20 Championship tournament.
The recent Concacaf Under 20 Championship tournament epitomized Revolution II forward Olger Escobar’s success throughout the 2024 season.
Escobar’s run got off to a murky start when Guatemala opened the group stage on July 21 against Panama. The Revs II forward started in the midfield, but his night ended unexpectedly in the 34th minute as he exited the pitch on a stretcher with what looked like a gnarly injury. Guatemala went on to suffer a 3-0 defeat.
Escobar escaped serious injury as he was back in the starting lineup on July 24 when Guatemala faced Mexico. Escobar went on to go the full 90 minutes and completed 10 of 14 as Guatemala suffered a 2-1 defeat.
The group stage finale against Haiti on July 27 saw Escobar put on a show when Guatemala faced Haiti. After Haiti’s Mendell Francois fouled Carlos Aguilar inside the box, Escobar stepped to the spot and drilled the penalty kick into the left side of the net to put Guatemala up 1-0.
Escobar’s night got better in the 26th minute. After receiving Decarlo Guerra’s pass, Escobar turned a full 180° and evaded pressure as he drilled the ball into the back of the net to double Guatemala’s lead and bag his second goal of the night.
After bagging the first two goals, Escobar shared the wealth in the 38th minute when he slotted a ball across the box from the left flank to a wide-open Matthew Evans who tapped the ball into the net to make it 3-0 Guatemala.
Escobar's night got sweeter in the 47th minute when he received Marvin Avilla’s pass inside the box before easily shredding through the Haitian defense and notching a hat trick with his third goal of the evening.
Thanks to results across the competition, Escobar and Guatemala found themselves advancing to the knockout stage, where they face the United States in the Quarterfinal on Tuesday.
Like all three group stage matches, Escobar once again found himself in the starting lineup as Guatemala faced an uphill battle against a tough U.S. side that had not conceded up to that point. Despite being the underdogs, Guatemala held their own through the first half as they kept the US off the board while generating some good chances.
Things changed in the 49th minute when Ruben Ramos Jr. found a pocket of space atop the left side of the box and curled a ball to the upper-left corner to put the U.S. up 1-0.
Just as it looked like the U.S. would walk away with a 1-0 victory, things changed in the 87th minute when Nimfasha Berchimas fouled Rudy Muñoz inside the box as the referee pointed to the spot.
Escobar stepped to the spot, looking to keep Guatemala’s hopes of advancing alive. After taking a few steps back, Escobar drilled a shot to the lower left side of the net. Unfortunately for Escobar, Adam Beaudry was all over the penalty and stretched to make the save as the US walked away with a 1-0 victory.
It was a rough ending for Escobar, but it was a tremendous tournament for the 17-year-old as he tallied three goals and an assist over 277 minutes of action.
With the Concacaf U-20 Championship in the rearview mirror, Escobar will now make his way back to New England as Revolution II will look to turn their season around on August 3rd when they travel to Kennesaw, Georgia, to face Atlanta United 2 at 8:30 pm ET.
He could be a big part of Porter’s youth movement, if there indeed is one.
Escobar has great promise for the Revolution if Porter will use them for more than a bench warmers.