D.C. United U-19 Academy midfielder Alexis Cerritos made his debut with the El Salvadoran National Team on Sunday, entering the match in the 89th minute in a 1-0 friendly win over Canada in Houston. The 17-year-old came in for Chicago Fire midfielder Arturo Alvarez and played sparingly, but reached a career milestone few players achieve at such a young age.
Cerritos previously represented La Selecta with the the U-17 team in the CONCACAF U-17 Championship in the spring.
Cerritos and the Salvadorans earned the 1-0 victory after Dennis Pineda scored the lone goal of the match, burying a well-timed cross from Alexander LarÃn to beat Canadian goalkeeper Simon Thomas in the 75th minute. Despite gaining a 53 percent to 47 percent possession advantage, Orlando City forward Cyle Larin and Canada failed to generate more than a few offensive opportunities in the final third, registering just six shots, four of which were on target.
With his appearance on Sunday, Alexis Cerritos is the second member of his family to represent La Selecta internationally. Alexis’ father and former United forward Ronald Cerritos made more than 60 appearances with El Salvador, netting eight goals. This season with United's U-19 Academy, the younger Cerritos has made four starts and one additional appearance, scoring once.
