CS Cartaginés Secures Quarterfinal Spot with 2-0 Win over CD FAS

CS Cartaginés secured its place in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Central American Cup by defeating CD FAS 2-0 on Tuesday at Estadio José Rafael Fello Meza in Cartago, Costa Rica.

After a goalless first half, Geancarlo Castro broke the deadlock in the 61st minute with a left-footed strike following a corner kick delivery. The hosts sealed the victory in the 78th minute when Juan Vega assisted Alonso Hernández for the second goal.

With this result, CS Cartaginés advances to the knockout stage, ending the tournament run for CD FAS, who remain with four points in Group D.

CS Cartaginés goalkeeper Kevin Briceño holds the record for most games played by a single player in the Concacaf Central American Cup with 12 appearances across the last two editions, according to concacaf.com.

Geancarlo Castro, the tournament's top scorer with three goals, also became the first player since 2025 to both score and assist in a single match for CS Cartaginés in this competition.

CD FAS registered 16 attempts on goal during the match but failed to score, marking one of the highest numbers of attempts by an away team without a goal in the tournament's 2026 edition.

Manuel Morán, a Panamanian player for CS Cartaginés, won the most duels for his team with nine, ranking second overall in the tournament for duels won, as reported by concacaf.com.

Before the match, CS Cartaginés entered second place in Group D, aiming for a second consecutive victory to secure their quarterfinal berth. The team had scored six goals in the competition so far, including a four-goal performance against Verdes FC.

CD FAS, led by coach Adrián Sánchez, needed a win and favorable results elsewhere to advance to the knockout stage for the first time in the tournament's history. They had accumulated one win, one draw, and one loss before this final group match and aimed to remain unbeaten in three consecutive home matches.

CS Cartaginés, coached by Amarini Villatoro, lined up in a 4-4-2 formation with Briceño as goalkeeper, while CD FAS used a 4-2-3-1 setup led by Jos Isaac Portillo, according to match reports from ysscores.com.