In what was one of the most hideous displays of the beautiful game I've ever seen, the Guatemalan national team was able to come from behind and edge underdogs Nicaragua, 2-1. It was the Central American Cup
fifth-place match, but there was no shortage of inspiration, for it was to squeak into the final Gold Cup spot. And again, the match wasn't very good. Nicaragua is what you can call a CONCACAF "minnow," there's not a whole lot to be said for international talent there. Guatemala, who can (when playing their best ball) has shown the likes of the United States some good competition-- but they didn't play like it yesterday. Wild crosses, poor tactics, and
mismatched socks simply made for an unimpressive game (the one exception was a 35-yard
volley from Nicaragua's Feliz Rodriguez). Good news being, obviously, this in many cases is the nature of the difficulty the Yanks will face this summer in the Gold Cup.
As the GC schedule is put together in the coming weeks and we get closer to the tournament proper, I'll be looking at the players and teams to pay attention to--although they are the powerhouses, the Yanks and Mexico aren't the only talented squads in CONCACAF.
The Gold Cup Lineup
North America (qualified automatically):
- USA, Mexico, Canada
Central America:
- Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, El Salvador, Guatemala
Caribbean:
- Jamaica, Guadeloupe, Cuba, Grenada
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