Final thoughts
Congratulations to Guatemala on their first ever win over the USA in World Cup qualifying — they took their chances and in the end they were pretty comfortable in seeing out the game.
The USA looked mediocre throughout — too many uncertain-looking players making uncertain looking decisions, and now facing an uncertain looking path to the Hex, let alone the World Cup. They’re in third place in their semi-final group halfway through the campaign, and depending on how results go from here on out, they could be going into their final game against Trinidad with both teams needing a win to qualify. That’s a humiliating scenario for a team of the USA’s regional stature.
Off to Columbus then, with just a few days for Jürgen Klinsmann to flip the script on this series. At least he won’t have to face Carlos Ruiz next week. There’s not much else for him to take by way of consolation from this fresh debacle, however.
Thanks for joining me. Good night.
Final score: Guatemala 2-0 USA
Final thoughts in a minute
90 mins+3: Dempsey goes sprawling in the box now, but he’s called for the foul, and there are just seconds remaining...
90 mins +2: Dempsey showboats a little wide left, but it’s all for nothing as he can’t find a telling cross.
90 mins +1: Bradley tries to swing the ball wide in search of Bedoya, but it’s all too easily cut out.
90 mins: We’re heading towards stoppage time. NAgbe floats a long ball over the top looking for Altidore, but Motta leaps to grab the ball, and another notional attack disappears. Three minutes to be added on.
88 mins: Zardes’ shot is charged down for a corner. It’s sent to the back post by Bradley, but again the defense holds firm as the US can’t get the ball to drop for a clear chance. Ruiz comes off to a huge roar as Gerardo Arias checks in as final substitute.
86 mins: The USA look ragged now, while Guatemala’s players can see the finish line.
Bedoya tries to find some space wide left, but his tired touch gives away possession cheaply.
84 mins: Ruiz is having another picnic on the turf after Bradley fouls him. He wanders off the field slowly now, trailing a whole bunch of elapsed seconds.
82 mins: Bedoya takes a knock and is limping a little, but he can’t come f with all the substitutes used.
And that’s another great save by Motta! From nowhere the USA break, and a beautiful through ball by Dempsey finds Altidore angling towards goal on the right of the box. He tries to shoot low across Motta and it’s a decent enough shot, but Motta’s trailing leg pushes it wide. Was that the last chance for the US to get back into this game?
80 mins: More lurching possession play from the US as they telegraph the attempts to switch the point of attack. Guatemala defenders and midfielders amble into position to cover them comfortably.
78 mins: Pappa gets a yellow card for pushing Bedoya as he tries to keep control deep in US territory.
76 mins: Guatemala are 15 minutes from a first ever victory over the USA. USA are 15 minutes from yet another kink in their planned schedule for the year (the most optimistic scenario had them wrapping up qualification for the Hex in these two games against Guatemala). More US crosses, more clearances by white shirts.
74 mins: USA’s attack looks more agitated than direct right now. Lot of urgent looking players and not a lot of urgent action coming from them. Zardes steps to the outside and drives a cross straight at Motta. Who duly catches it.
72 mins: USA getting frustrated now, and Cameron bellows at Ruiz to get up after the latter goes to ground on a foul. Ruiz eventually gets to his feet and sings, “I’ve just got to be me!”
70 mins: Guatemala looked to be settling into their own defensive posture to see out the game, but they’re still having their attacking moments, and Yedlin has to scramble to block a Tinoco shot for a corner. AND GUATEMALA HIT THE BAR! Contreras swings in a corner and it ricochets off Dempsey and off the bar with Howard nowhere. Contreras is immediately subbed out for a defender, Carlos Castrillo.
68 mins: Cameron will play sweeper. Bradley will drop a little deeper and the USA try to make the numbers up front count. Altidore, of course, is still carrying a bit of an injury, but in fairness he was always expected to play some part tonight.
Now USA have another corner as Wood’s shot/cross is deflected wide. Again, nothing much comes of it.
66 mins: Sloppy touch from Bedoya almost initiates a Guatemal counter, but the USA scramble back to cover. Back to US approach play...and now another big call from Klinsmann — he pulls out Gonzalez to bring on Jozy Altidore. He’s going for it...
64 mins: Guatemala playing in the US half for a moment now and the sequence ends when Jimenez steps up to strike a rather wild shot wide of the right post.
62 mins: Zardes immediately in action, though he’s judged to be offside when Bradley’s ball looks to find him free in the corner of the box. He failed to control the ball anyway, but he’s at least there as an outlet for the US now.
In response, Guatemala settle and take a turn at moving the ball around the midfield to run down a few seconds, to the delight of the home crowd.
60 mins: As the hour comes up Klinsmann takes a chance — he brings off Orozco for Zardes. That’ll shuffle Cameron back to the center of defense and Yedlin will move to right back. Half an hour for the new look to retrieve something from this game.
58 mins: The USA looking a little more determined in this half and Nagbe battles well to retrieve the ball in midfield and arrow towards goal. He burtsts into the box, gets turned and touches inside for Wood, who in turn quickly touches into the path of Dempsey. His shot is fierce but straight at Motta, with the whole goal open again. Another great chance goes begging.
At the other end, Marquez has time to shape for a shot from distance, and he fizzes a low drive past the near post, just to remind the USA not to regret their defensive duties.
56 mins: Another US free kick wide left after Hamilton Lopez is called for a soft looking foul. Inswinger from Bradley, but it’s never under US control and it’s eventually hoofed clear to Howard for the USA to start from the back again.
54 mins: Klinsmann looking a little like a disappointed dad, as he wanders the technical box. No wonder — HOW DID THE BALL STAY OUT THERE???!! Yedlin cuts a ball back to Dempsey in space at the near post, and his shot is brilliantly charged down by Motta. It only makes it to the edge of the box where Nagbe coolly switches the ball wide when Guatemala expected the shot. Bedoya is briefly left with the goal gaping, but Motta is out quickly again to make another great smothering stop. But the USA should really have scored there.
52 mins: Bradley pings a decent enough ball into the six yard box from the free kick, but Guatemala get it headed clear for a corner. Gonzalez gets up well at the near post to put the ball just wide from the corner, but he was fouling Tinoco as he jumped for it.
50 mins: Yedlin overruns the ball in the right of the box and goes flying into the hoardings as he attempts to keep it in play. He earns some caustic remarks from Hernandez, who needs to be careful after his early booking. He immediately carefully fouls Bobby Wood near the right corner of the box...
48 mins: Lively start for Guatemala as Ruiz holds up the ball in the box and lays it back for Tinoco, who blazes over. And a minute later he’s firing over the bar again from a narrow angle. All Guatemala.
Second half begins
Guatemala kick off and are immediately on the front foot. Pappa sends a shot curling straight at Howard from the edge of the box.
Underrated...
Nagbe is coming in for Diskerud. That’s officially a rough night for the NYCFC midfielder. Meanwhile Marco Pappa is on for Cincotta.
Canadian twitter speaks:
Speaking of finely clutched straws, Travis Giblin and Derryl Murphy seem to reckon Canada are handily beating Mexico 0-2:
@travisgiblin @KidWeil Jr Hoilett missed a sitter, Cyle Larin toe-poked wide, and Atiba Hutchinson knocked over on b/away. Better finishing!
— Derryl Murphy (@derrylm) March 26, 2016
The comparable US discussion thread may not be quite so constructive...
Updated
Offside:
The Ruiz goal is being revisited (on a raft made of finely clutched straws). mjgarne writes:
“Can’t be offside from goal kick, but Ruiz was in offside position when Guatemalan player makes play for ball after Bradley header. My 2 cents since game is only free on TV in Spanish in US.”
Pedantry wars part 3
J.R. from Illinois Can. Not. Let. It. Go:
“Colin in London almost has a point but ultimately does not. While it is true that in the U.S. a game like this would sometimes be listed as ‘USA at Guatemala’ there is certainly no convention in doing so. And I would point out this game was listed as ‘USA v Guatemala’ not ‘USA atGuatemala’. There’s a huge difference there.
This subject is a sore spot for me. There is essentially no consistency in this realm in the U.S. It shouldn’t just be a soccer convention. It just makes sense no matter what sporting event is being referred to. As someone from the U.S. I have no problem admitting we don’t know what in the hell we are doing.”
Half-time thoughts:
A stodgy, error-strewn performance from the US was met by an organized display by Guatemala in the first half. Mix Diskerud’s error on the first goal was the big mark against him, but in truth the bigger problem was the general lack of inspiration in midfield. Dempsey did his best to kickstart things, and Wood was a willing runner, but the USA just looked very, very mediocre.
And they made Carlos Ruiz, at 36, and already considering a post-career life in politics, look like a hungry, young predator. Not just on the goal he scored, where he ran clear of the US defensive to finish past Howard, but at moments where he was available to hold the ball high up the field in areas he should have had no right to beat his markers to. He remains a magnificent nuisance.
The USA may look to Lee Nguyen to try and open up the tight midfield in the second half. They need to create something...
Half-time: Guatemala 2-0 USA
Half-time thoughts in a moment...
45 mins + 1: Another long ball from the US, but they don’t have Carlos Ruiz on their team, and Motta dives on the ball. One minute to be added on for stoppages.
44 mins; Dempsey and Yedlin combine without ever quite opening up a clear opening, and the ball ricochets around the Guatemala box a little before it loops up perfectly for the advancing Bradley. His first time shot is high and wide though.
Travis Giblin just tweeted me again to let me know that Mexico are now winning 2-0 in Canada.
42 mins: Gonzalez has been launching a few long balls forward with little effect in this half. And he sends another one skipping aimlessly through to Motta.
40 mins: Ruiz is lobbying for a yellow card for Diskerud, after a sloppy tackle on Cincotta. Nothing doing, but a few more seconds tick away as half-time approaches.
38 mins: USA earn a free kick some distance out after Diskerud’s ball forward is handled. But Bradley’s driven free kick is headed clear.
36 mins: USA trying to force the pace a little but still looking very labored, while Guatemala are closing down very well every time they lose possession. Meanwhile, in the Canada v Mexico game...
@KidWeil Sh!t!!! Uncontested header from LittlePea from the cross! Mexico are up 1-nil...
— Travis Giblin (@travisgiblin) March 26, 2016
34 mins: A long ball forward sees Wood compete for the ball but stumble over in the box. He gets to his feet looking for a penalty, but that was very optimistic on his part.
32 mins: Guatemala needed a win from tonight’s game, and with the onus on the USA to force them out of a winning position right now, the visitors are not doing much to force the issue. A poor short corner from Bradley is headed clear, and that’s just about a summary of their uninspiring night so far.
30 mins: Ruiz showing his full array of “contact” skills as he lives up to his reputation as an absolute pest. His goal was perfectly good by the way — as several people have been keen to remind me, in multiple media, you can’t be offside from a goal kick...
28 mins: Yedlin tries to wriggle through down the right, but he’s comfortably boxed out and Guatemala hold the US comfortably at bay. They’ll already be thinking about getting in at half-time with this two goal cushion intact.
26 mins: Wood is looking frustrated at both the poor service he’s receiving and the kicks he’s receiving from the Guatemala defenders. Another misjudged ball from Yedlin fails to find him down the right and Guatemala clear comfortably.
24 mins: USA beginning to push numbers up in support, but the final ball is too often poor...
22 mins: The free kick flies harmlessly past the far post.
And now that’s a great chance for Bedoya, as he races through on a beautifully disguised pass from Dempsey. He’s vriefly one-on-one with Motta and shoots first time, but straight at the advancing keeper. That was a great chance to pull one back. Bedoya’s at least been getting into dangerous areas.
20 mins: The USA doing their best to pretend that this scenario was covered in their game plan. Moving the ball around without particular urgency.
The game gets scrappy for a moment, and then Guatemala pick up a dangerous free kick in the USA’s half as Orozco is adjudged to have fouled Ruiz. Orozco seems...peeved.
18 mins: Guatemala’s goal had a hint of offside about it but an even bigger hint of defensive sleepiness. Ruiz was long gone by the time the center backs turned.
GOAL! GUATEMALA 2-0 USA (RUIZ!)
It had to be him! After some vague US pressure ends in a loose Bradley shot, a long goal kick finds Ruiz racing off the last man, and he’s clear through on goal before tucking it coolly under Howard! USA in all sorts of trouble.
14 mins: Another decent build-up as Castillo and Bedoya combine for the latter to get a cross in from near the byline. Again Wood is making a nuisance of himself in the six yard box, but Hernandez does enough.
Guatemala in more of a 4-5-1 by the way, with Ruiz as lone striker. Tinoco playing wide right.
12 mins: The replays are not kind to Diskerud’s contribution to that Guatemala goal.
Suddenly there’s a chance for the USA as Yedlin’s quick throw finds Dempsey racing into the box. He cuts back and a lunging Wood is juuuuuust short of turning it in. Decent response to going behind.
10 mins: Hernandez picks up a yellow as Wood tries to skip past him down the right, before being brought down. It’s a free kick out near the touchline. The USA had started reasonably comfortably — can they create a chance? No — Bradley’s free kick curls over every US head. It’s not fully clear though and the US are still swarming around the box. Eventually Yedlin’s ball to the back post floats harmlessly out.
GOAL! GUATEMALA 1-0 USA (Morales!)
That’s a gift for Guatemala...Under pressure Howard slips up on a sloppy back pass and the hosts have a corner. It’s a Ruiz header that’s chested clear for another corner. This one is swung to the center of the box where Morales gets up over a stumbling Diskerud. His header is awkward but bounces off Diskerud and past Howard to give Guatemala the lead and the stadium some volume.
6 mins: Now Bedoya chases a through ball into the box, but he’s always second favorite against Motta, who makes it a little more complicated than he needs to as he steps past the US player to clear.
Now Wood is irritated to be called for a push on Moises Hernandez, who in turn gives him a little dig in the back after the whistle.
4 mins: USA circulating the ball, and Cameron tries to carry the ball forward, but he’s crowded out. Some scrappy midfield play ends with Bedoya lunging in to push a loose ball back to Howard.
2 mins: Boos all round as the USA retain possession in the opening seconds, and then jeers as the hosts pick up the first free kick, in their own half. Launched long, but runs all the way through for Howard, who promptly boots it up to the other end. And back it comes again, as we settle into a short route one warm up exercise of sorts.
Peep! We're underway!
Jafeth Parea blows his whistle, and the USA get the game going...
Teams are out:
USA in their somber Barcelona-at-a-funeral kit. Guatemala and their fans belting out their national anthem now — lively atmosphere, though the attendance at the 30,000 capacity stadium has been capped at 18,000 for this game.
Off in a minute. Grab your snacks.
The mere scent of pedantry drives the readers wild
Colin in London pounces:
“Ah I do like a good pedantry scrap. J.R. in Illinois is quite right to point out the soccer convention of listing the home team first, hence ‘Arsenal vs Liverpool’ would mean the teams are playing at the Emirates but isn’t it the case with ‘American Football’ (sic) that the convention is the opposite? Where ‘Miami Dolphins are ‘at’ Chicago Bears’? Just saying. Colin in London.”
We are all part of the FIFA family. And that’s my final word on the matter. (The offending subeditor has now been promoted to editor-in-chief by the way. This is the Guardian after all). And if you refresh your page the headline is fixed.
Shapes
Looking at the two line ups a little more closely, Guatemala look set to come out in a fairly standard 4-4-2, with Cincotta and Contreras attacking down the flanks.
But the USA could be a 4-2-2-2 with Cameron at right back, and Yedlin in front of him — or even a 3-5-2 with Yedlin and Castillo as the wing backs. Some outlets have it as a 4-2-3-1 with Cameron alongside Bradley in midfield and Yedlin at right back. We’ll see when we get underway, but the fact it’s so uncertain probably says everything you need to know about trying to predict Klinsmann’s selections since the World Cup.
Team News:
Guatemala: Motta; Morales, Hernandez, Hamilton Lopez, Jimenez; Contreras, Saravia, Marquez, Cincotta; Ruiz, Tinoco
USA: Howard; Cameron, González, Orozco, Castillo; Yedlin, Bradley, Diskerud, Bedoya; Wood, Dempsey
So no Pappa to start for Guatemala — who will be looking to Gerson Tinoco to partner Carlos Ruiz.
And Altidore’s hamstring keeps him out of the USA attack, which will instead be led by Bobby Wood, with some version of a Bedoya, Bradley, Dempsey three behind him, by the looks of it.
Awkward...
MLS players were asked to fill out an anonymous poll for ESPN recently, which means that there’s every possibility this scene played itself out in the US players lounge this week, as a certain floppy-haired midfielder approaches a gaggle of his peers huddled round a smartphone.
“Hey guys. What you looking at? The most overrated players in MLS? That’s funny! Who’s number one? Bet it’s…Mix Diskerud. Oh.”
Diskerud stood out from a list that included various highly paid designated players, including US team mates Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore, for being a rather more modestly paid presence at NYCFC, yet still regarded as a more over-rated presence.
Of course, Diskerud didn’t enjoy the best of seasons last year — though being played out wide in an unsettled expansion team didn’t help. He’s been better to start this year — playing in the middle of the park under Patrick Vieira’s new narrow system and looking a lively presence. The vote was a harsh assessment, and with 12 fellow MLS players in the roster with him, there might have been one or two awkward silences, or at least an “Et tu, dude?”, during training breaks.
Perhaps Diskerud can compare sympathetic notes with Darlington Nagbe, who was tied for “most underrated player” and who’s in the roster for these two games. However, Diskerud can’t compare notes with the player who tied Nagbe, Dax McCarty. The Red Bulls midfielder will be watching at home, due to being underrated.
Email is (justifiably) pedantic:
Hey Graham,
Not to be pedantic (of course you know that beginning is a sure sign that what follows is quite likely to be considered pedantic) and not saying this error is yours but seeing as this game is being played in Guatemala it really should be touted as “Guatemala v USA” as opposed to “USA v Guatemala”.
-- J.R. in Illinois
Which in fairness is about as polite as I or the now weeping subeditor could currently expect right now.
Twitter is melancholy
The whole country is on the edge of their seats for this one. Parochial concerns have been swept aside in the interests of supporting the US as they compete in the world’s game. It’s a beacon of hope in a time of...
@KidWeil Normally, 100% about this. But Iowa State is giving me a sad.
— Chris Barker (@barker_cm) March 26, 2016
Whatever happened to US goalkeepers?
US goalkeepers. Remember them? Tall, square-jawed things with optional mullets; spawning myriad crude theories about traditional US sports “being played with hands so that’s why they’re good”; making US players look credible in Europe.
So, anyway…right now, Jürgen Klinsmann is in the locker room yelling “Think fast!” as he hurls oranges at random kit men in the hope of stumbling on someone capable of catching something. Brad Guzan is having a miserable time at Aston Villa; Tim Howard is off to Colorado after Everton started leaving Rocky Mountain travel brochures in his locker. Klinsmann is still talking about rotating the pair of them, but with Club Leon’s William Yarbrough and San Jose’s David Bingham in the roster as well, perhaps Klinsmann should just stack them all and play six outfielders.
USA
This is a compromised US team — or at least the long period of experimentation after the World Cup has left it looking like a compromised team. Michael Bradley continues to be shuffled in and out of effectiveness as Klinsmann tinkers with the balance of the side; Tim Howard and Brad Guzan have both suffered precipitous drops in club form; the best outfield player (on current form), Fabian Johnson, is carrying an injury. Some of these setbacks are self-inflicted, some are bad luck, but there’s been a definite trend of dwindling indulgence for Jürgen Klinsmann’s relentless optimism in the past year, after the Gold Cup, Olympic qualification and Confederations Cup debacles.
If there are any positives they might be the emergence of Bobby Wood, after a tentative start to his international career, as a goalscorer for both club and country. And even better, John Brooks has been in tremendous form at the heart of defense for Champions League wannabes Hertha Berlin. Actually, scratch that John Brooks has gone back to Germany, injured. With Omar Gonzalez also battling his way back into favor after his move to Pachuca. in Liga MX, perhaps there’s hope for some stability in the heart of defense yet.
If anything there should be an excess of stability — Klinsmann has once again picked a whole clutch of natural central defenders for this roster, with very few options for natural width. Some of those players can play out wide, but it doesn’t exactly suggest the swashbuckling attacking style we were once promised in more innocent Klinsmann times.
That said, Mix Diskerud is starting tonight rather than Kyle Beckerman, so it looks as if Klinsmann is going for a positive midfield shape. And...look, Edgar Castillo, last seen in 2014, is back and may be starting!
Guatemala
The USA’s nemesis from the equivalent game in the last World Cup cycle, Marco Pappa, is in the roster tonight, but unlikely to play as many minutes as he did in the last game. He’s bounced around MLS a little since the two teams last played, and is currently playing for Colorado — where he scored a great goal to beat LA a couple of weeks ago.
In fact, given that Colorado have just signed Tim Howard, if both end up on the field at the same time (not a lock in either case) over this couple of games, then Pappa could be taking one of his dangerous free kicks right at his new team mate.
And of course there’s team captain Carlos Ruiz — a player well-known to MLS fans, after his own journey through several rosters in the league. Ruiz is the kind of player opposing fans love to hate, and is therefore almost guaranteed to score tonight, so that the beIN commentators get to say things like “It HAD to be HIM!!!” between replays. Ruiz won’t be traveling for the second leg, owing to some truly bizarre legal reasons keeping him in Guatemala, so he’ll have a point to prove tonight.
Guatemala’s 2-1 loss to Trinidad and Tobago to start qualifying has left them under pressure to get something out of tonight — even if it was somewhat offset by them putting four past St Vincent and Grenadines in the following game. The atmosphere might not be quite as intense as before the infamous 2000 World Cup qualifier where the local radio station held a party outside the US team hotel until the early hours of the morning, but the USA will hardly be welcomed. Anything other than a defeat would be a decent result for the US to take back to Columbus in five days time.
Preamble
Welcome back to the “Road to Russia” — one of the USA’s engineering marvels of the world — a giant, obstacle-free autobahn flowing inexorably towards glory in the next World Cup. Look closer and you see perfectly arcing on-ramps with signposts such as “2015 Gold Cup”, “2016 Olympics”, and “2017 Confederations Cup” — each smoothly introducing fresh talent at the optimum moment to peak for 2018.
Look closer still of course, and the Gold Cup ramp ends in a mass of twisted rebar hanging over a 200 ft drop through Jamaica. Look a little closer and there’s an Under-23 bus broken down on the side of the road with the occupants trying to thumb a ride through Colombia. Closer still and there’s a clown car filled with goalkeepers doing doughnuts in the fast lane. Closer still and…is he playing for Sunderland???
Zoom out quickly. At least that new pop-up rest stop marked Copa America looks nicely appointed.
Torturous metaphor over. The good news for the USA, as they head into a road (to Russia) and home series against Guatemala tonight and next week, is this…they are matching the basic formula for success in Concacaf qualifying so far: win at home, draw on the road (to Russia). At the end of the year they managed a 6-1 home win over St Vincent and Grenadines before drawing 0-0 on the road against Trinidad and Tobago.
With Guatemala having already lost to T&T, the USA could make a huge step towards eliminating the Guatemalans with positive results from the next two games, but don’t take that as a given. The two teams also met at the same stage of the last World Cup cycle, at a time when Jürgen Klinsmann’s team appeared to be in the ascendancy — and in a bruising encounter they ended up giving up a slender lead late on when Marco Pappa equalized.
So tonight’s game in Guatemala City could be a tight affair. A one way narrowing alleyway nearing a fork in the road, if you will. Or a game, if you won’t.
I’ll be back soon with more build up and team news. in the meantime get your tweets and emails coming in to @KidWeil or email graham.parker@theguardian.com with your traffic report puns and “finely-tuned-engine” analogies.
Graham will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s Caitlin Murray’s lookahead to USA’s home-and-home with Guatemala.
When Sporting Kansas City midfielder Benny Feilhaber publicly criticized US national team coach Jürgen Klinsmann for not calling him up, it was remarkable for two reasons.
The first is that players don’t normally air those kinds of grievances so bluntly for the world to hear. The second is that many American fans agreed with him – if not about Feilhaber specifically, then about Klinsmann’s roster selection.
“I don’t think that Jürgen calls in the best players that are available to him,” Feilhaber said earlier this year. “That, for me, is a problem.”
After a difficult 2015 that saw the Americans crash out of the Gold Cup and fail to qualify for the Confederations Cup, a growing segment of fans and media raised concerns that Klinsmann’s roster selection has played a role in recent struggles. But is it fair for outsiders to make that judgment?
“He’s our national team coach – he has a vision of how he wants to play and how he goes about his business,” Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes told the Guardian. “At the end of the day, everybody can have an opinion if they want, but he’s the one who’s got the picture in his mind of how he wants to play and if a player doesn’t fit that mode, that’s his prerogative.
“At the same time, he has to live and die by his results in making those decisions.”
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