U.S. Men’s National Team v. Guatemala, in Guatemala City, 6.12.12

The U.S. men’s national team led for much of this World Cup qualifier against Guatemala, but were in fact fortunate to draw 1-1 and leave Guatemala City with a single point. I will not dwell on the fact that the U.S. has still not significantly distanced themselves from CONCACAF competition. This point doesn’t need to be argued, at least judging by recent articles and podcasts I read and listened to in the days leading up to the Guatemala match. From what I could gather, most former U.S. international players and soccer pundits agreed that the U.S. would be lucky to win in Guatemala, that they would likely draw there. Those commentators cited a hostile Central American environment that would require police escorts for U.S. players going to and from the stadium, likely dubious and biased refereeing, and a decent opponent that includes 2002 MLS MVP Carlos Ruiz and Chicago Fire midfielder Marco Pappa.

The commentators were proved right about the draw, of course. But I wonder in retrospect if the factors they cited should excuse drawing with a team that has never even qualified for a World Cup finals tournament. The Guatemalan crowd did not strike me as overly menacing, at least from the comfort of my couch; the stadium looked to have thousands of empty seats, and no objects like half-filled beer cups rained down on U.S. players, as they sometimes do in, say, Mexico. Moreover, the refereeing wasn’t egregious, and Carlos Ruiz and Marco Pappa are hardly names that strike fear into international sides across the globe. Given the U.S. side’s current FIFA ranking (28), its well respected internationally based players, and its lofty ambitions, we might have reasonably expected more than just a draw. Jurgen Klinsmann, who was caught by the cameras yelling at his squad (or the referee) shortly after Guatemala equalized, certainly seemed displeased with the U.S.’s play during his first game coached in Central America.

To give Guatemala credit, they consistently harassed the U.S. players, pressing all over the field and rarely letting the U.S. look comfortable on the ball (though the U.S. certainly did have the lion’s share of possession). The aforementioned Ruiz and Pappa had good games, particularly Pappa, who played only during the second half but who greatly affected the game and scored off a beautiful free kick in the 83^rd minute. His strike came from just outside the penalty area. The ball cleared the U.S. wall, dipped into the top corner near post, and caught U.S. keeper Tim Howard uncharacteristically flatfooted.

Pappa looked mighty dangerous in the run of play too, more so than most of his opponents did. In the 68^th minute, for example, he adroitly took down a pass in traffic, created space for himself at the top of the box, and took a shot that was deflected and narrowly missed the target. Pappa took the ensuing corner kick, which provided Guatemala’s second-best chance of the night. His cross was ultimately struck on goal by, I think, Luis Rodríguez. Howard bailed out the Yanks with a great save on that shot, but the deflection fell to Ruiz. Ruiz looked as if he were trying to rip the net off the goal with his short-range strike, which, very fortunately for the U.S., sailed high over the crossbar. It’s always easy for spectators to second-guess players who have to make such shots in the chaos of the moment, but it did appear that Ruiz could have easily side-footed the shot past Howard.

Clint Dempsey scored for the U.S. and generally had a good game, though there were long stretches when he didn’t see the ball. His sometime invisibility is hardly surprising since Guatemala clearly targeted him and tried to take him out of the match, in part by manhandling him. Guatemala couldn’t bottle him up for the entire game, though, and his goal displayed all of Dempsey’s best qualities. In the 40^th minute, he received a square pass from Fabian Johnson about twenty yards from goal. Dempsey’s first touch slowed the movement of the ball but didn’t completely stop it. Dempsey then feinted very slightly, as if he were about to go to his left (away from the direction of the pass). When the Guatemala defender realized in a split second that the ball and Dempsey were in fact continuing to Dempsey’s right, he attempted to recover, slipped, and landed on his backside. Dempsey’s next touch, also to his right, sent the other Guatemala central defender to the turf, allowing plenty of space for Dempsey to take a low shot off his laces, sending the ball under the keeper and into the back of the net. The shot was unspectacular, economical, accurate, lethal—the perfect finish if you want to score as opposed to get on a goal-of-the-week highlight reel. Ruiz should have taken note.

U.S. fans must have been reassured to see Johnson return from his injury to take his place on the back line, though aside from his assist and a few strong runs forward he didn’t look very sharp. He was victimized a couple of times when Guatemala attacked down their right-hand side, as they did in the 38^th minute to create a decent shot on goal. Johnson also gave the ball away carelessly and without pressure in the 57^th minute, and was beaten badly by Ruiz in the 73^rd. Finally, it was Johnson who fouled Ruiz on the play that set up Pappa’s free-kick goal.

Overall, it was just not a great night for the U.S. If the Yanks had held onto their first-half lead, they would have secured a comfortable space atop group A. As it stands, though, they let the win slip away and are now tied with Jamaica at four points. Those two teams will meet in Columbus, Ohio on September 11. Jamaica currently has a respectable FIFA ranking (60) and an impressive roster that includes many players from European club teams. While it should be noted that the U.S. have qualified for every World Cup since 1990, they appear to be intent on making every game of this group stage a meaningful and interesting one.