U.S. Men Settle For 1-1 Tie In Guatemala

The best thing to come out of tonight is that I didn't waste $30 on the U.S. men's World Cup qualifying match in Guatemala that was only shown Stateside on Pay Per View. I probably could have found a free version online but I was too lazy and content with simply watching Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Looks like I didn't miss much as the U.S. tied Guatemala 1-1 in Guatemala City.

Clint Dempsey scored in the 40th minute after a great move helped him elude two defenders then beat the goalkeeper. Fabian Johnson had the assist on Dempsey's second in two games. It was also his 28th this season between U.S. and Fulham; 27th international goal, three behind Brian McBride for third place in U.S. history.

Substitute Jozy Altidore appeared to score in the 78th minute but it was called back for a controversial foul.

Chicago Fire midfielder Marco Pappa took advantage of a free kick in the 84th minute as Guatemala (ranked 85th) tied the U.S. (28th) on a wonderful strike that completely fooled American goalkeeper Tim Howard.

On Twitter, all the U.S. soccer honks and former players said it was an acceptable result since it's so hard to win on the road, blah blah but I guess they forgot this was a team that had never made the World Cup. Oh and the United States has an 18-match unbeaten streak dating back to 1988 against said squad.

I guess this was more impressive than Friday's uneven 3-1 victory against Antigua and Barbuda since that was in Tampa Bay but at the same time, it's hard to say a tie is ever better than a two-goal win.

After two games, the U.S. is in first-place out of four teams in its qualifying group. They have four points (+2 goal differential), Jamaica has four points (worse goal differential), Guatemala and Antigua and Barbuda both have one point each.

The U.S. men's next World Cup qualifier is Friday, September 7 in Jamaica. That will most likely determine who comes in first place of the group if either gets the three points. After five games (2 World Cup qualifiers) in 2.5 weeks, the best thing for the players is to get some rest. They have to be exhausted (at least that's how they played) after all the training and travelling, which happened right after the club seasons ended.



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