Guatemala Qualifier Recap
By Doug Smith
After taking a win against Antigua and Barbuda the team headed to Central America to take on Guatemala. It was a match not on national television in the United States that started at 10 pm eastern time. A win would mean the USMNT was in the pole position in the group after Jamaica drew with the aforementioned A&B. The starters for the USMNT would be:
1-Howard; 6-Cherundolo, 21-Goodson, 3-Bocanegra (c), 23-Johnson; 7-Edu, 4-Bradley, 13-Jones; 10-Donovan, 8-Dempsey, 9-Gomez
Terrence Boyd, Nick Rimando, and the injured Edgar Castillo would be the only players not available. The return of Fabian Johnson at left back would give coach Jurgen Klinsmann more flexibility in his lineup. The starters played into a 4-1-2-2-1 or something similar with Maurice Edu as the defensive holding midfielder. The talk ahead of the match was to put more shots on net and win the second ball from Guatemala. They are not a tall team so winning a ball in the air was not their focus. Also, this would be the first game in Central America for Johnson, Jermaine Jones, Clarence Goodson, and Herculez Gomez.
Guatemala came out in their classy white umbro kit with light blue diagonal and the U.S. had the solid blue kits on. Carlos Ruiz would be the one to watch up front for Guatemala. He would send the first shot of the night toward Tim Howard, although it would go very high. Both clubs opened in a 4-3-3 although the U.S. was sure to roam.
A free kick and a corner were earned by the U.S. in the first five minutes, but there was more searching long balls than quality chances. It was a frantic pace with some open space and heavy tackles. Jones was chopped down twice early but managed to keep his cool for a couple free kicks. The third free kick came when Edwin Morales held Gomez to the ground after they both slipped. Still the play was quite choppy with plenty balls covering distance in the air in the first 13 minutes.
Guatemala was looking for quick counters at any chance. They were not having trouble finding passes to the middle of the pitch, even near the box. The only two shots in the first 21 minutes went well over the goal, however. They began to push three up front but were being matched by the U.S. defenders. Regardless, Guatemala seemed to have more sustained pressure, which is a good thing for a team that has never qualified for the World Cup proper. Their frantic style may have led Goodson into a yellow card, but the pace was hopeful, not creative.
The El Salvadorian referee, Joel Aguilar, was calling the match very tight adding to the choppy nature of the match. The fans were reacting to every whistle and every bit of hopeful action with yelling, cheering, or drum beating. Most of the calls being made seemed on point and a slightly refreshing way of ruling over a match. However, a questionable foul on Goodson in the 30th minute led to a great chance off a free kick for Guatemala. The shot from Ruiz would curl right at Howard.
The U.S. would have more set pieces in the first half but the service from Landon Donovan was not up to par. The team was also lacking creativity as they lopped balls down the pitch and hoped. Dempsey’s passing efforts were slick, but no one could get the ball back to him. Then the match turned a corner.
In the 39th minute Figueroa would slip around Johnson and take a crack with Ruiz and Rodriguez sitting in prime spots in the box. Howard would come up with a huge reaction save. The ball bounced back past two Guatemala players to be cleared out. Then a minute later Johnson would lead a rush off a couple convenient bounces and find Clint Dempsey outside the box. Dempsey would show patience with two defenders sliding past and slip it back against the grain on keeper Jerez for the 1-0 USMNT lead. Ruiz would beat Edu five minutes later and slide one just wide before the first half ended.
Besides that defensive lapse, Edu was okay in the defensive role. He was slightly invisible in the other parts of the game, but perhaps the team needed simplicity on this night. Johnson showed his versatility at left back although there were a couple moments in which his injury may still have slowed him down. Jones was all over the pitch starting on the right but finishing on the left. It was not a great first half for Goodson who now has a yellow and was whistled for a couple other fouls.
With Guatemala behind after sticking to a 4-3-3, they were now in a virtual must win situation and would need to press. Goeff Cameron would come on for Goodson to begin the second half. Marco Pappa would be among the three substitutes for Guatemala. An early corner for Guatemala would result in a header over the bar and the action was on again. Whistles continued as Jones was tackled resulting in a yellow for Rodriguez of Guatemala.
In the 55th minute a long ball would find Ruiz behind Carlos Bocanegra but the U.S. captain would recover and clear the ball by kicking it off his own hand. The home crowd pleaded for a handball but the foul was not whistled. It was a very active crowd as even Tim Howard would get quite a treatment on his goal kicks as those in attendance felt he took too long taking them. Although Michael Bradley would get a yellow for taking too long on a free kick. Pappa would join him in the book two minutes later for taking down Jones. It was still 1-0 in the 62nd minute.
Jozy Altidore would replace Gomez in the 64th minute as the team looked for an insurance goal. Edu would join the long list in the book with a late tackle in the 66th minute. It was beginning to be an overly officiated match and was not one for creativity or execution. However, Guatemala began to press near the 70th minute after gaining a corner from a deflection.
The corner found Rodriguez after a header down and he punched it toward Howard. Howard would make a fabulous save but the ball would bounce to Ruiz. Ruiz decided to put as much into it as possible and may have launched it out of the stadium. Guatemala was showing they knew the stakes. The U.S. was not reacting well to the wide open nature of the match.
With 12 minutes to go the game was becoming more like rugby as Edu, Dempsey, and Jones would all hobble away from some contact. In a strange call, a foul was called that stopped play despite the advantage to the U.S. Altidore would have been alone on the goalie but the whistle blew. This would loom large as Marco Pappa would strike a free kick absolutely perfectly in the 83rd minute to equalize for Guatemala. The kick was a result of a foul on Johnson that also resulted in a yellow card, the fourth of the day for the U.S.
Klinsmann was adamant on the sideline telling his players to press. Edu would have a go from just inside the 18 that would sky over the goal. Bradley would look for Altidore but he ended his run early. He truly did not look to be in shape. In general the team looked sluggish as the five game tournament drew to a close.
As the match wound down, Pappa had another go at the net just before the three minutes of stoppage time. It is surprising that stoppage time was not closer to seven minutes with all the whistles. It would end in a tie and perhaps a fair result given the choppy nature of the entire match.
The match was not pretty. It was full of whistles. The pay per view only showing was in standard definition and had transmission issues. It would take spells of talent from Dempsey and Pappa to find the netting behind each keeper. Jerez and Howard were both solid. The single point for the USMNT is a good result at this stage in qualifying. However, one may question if this team is over-trained or perhaps has never been challenged like this before during a camp. They endured two-a-day training and five competitive matches. Now they will get a rest from the national team before more qualifiers in September. They sit in a tie atop the group with four points and will take the results.