The U.S. men couldn't have gotten off to a worse start tonight in their semifinal round World Cup qualifying match against Guatemala at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park in Kansas City. A simple long ball from Jose Manuel Contreras found the ever dangerous Carlos Ruiz and the MLS star reached daylight behind the U.S. defense before tapping past Tim Howard five minutes in, 1-0 Guatemala.
Thankfully, things quickly turned from there as American defender Carlos Bocanegra tied it up in the 10th minute by redirecting Clint Dempsey's header off a corner kick. That was his 14th career goal for the U.S., the most by a defender. Dempsey wasn't done as he scored twice, in the 18th and 36th minute as Jurgen Klinsmann's team beat Guatemala 3-1 to win Group A with 13 points.
They advance to the final round of qualifying with five other CONCACAF squads: Jamaica (2nd in Group A), Honduras, Panama, Mexico and Costa Rica. That begins in March 2013 with the top three teams making World Cup 2014 in Brazil and the fourth-place squad going to a playoff vs. Oceania (probably New Zealand).
After a good deal of panic, it was nice that the U.S. was able to give their fans something to cheer about (after the nightmare start) and not more heart attacks. Dempsey became the fourth American to score 30 career goals (Landon Donovan, Brian McBride and Eric Wynalda). First, Eddie Johnson flew down the right side then crossed a low but firm pass that Dempsey ran onto and deflected enough to go in.
His other goal was similarly beautiful as Michael Bradley gave him a perfectly weighted pass and once again Dempsey was able to time his run at the exact right moment. Another tap in and some breathing room for the U.S.
Guatemala never really tested Tim Howard in the second half and most importantly, the U.S. was able to control the ball and work the clock down. Sporting KC's Graham Zusi played superbly in front of his home crowd while Herculez Gomez continued to lock down his roster spot going forward.
I couldn't get too excited about this result because while it is satisfying, I totally expected it but I also demand much more from the U.S. men. Beating Guatemala and Antigua and Barbuda is one thing but the Americans will have to regroup and play at another level next year. Their biggest issue continues to be their backline which can't seem to find a cohesive unit or the right combination of players.
It still hasn't been confirmed yet by US Soccer but all signs point to one more game in 2012 for the men: November 14 at Russia which would be a quality friendly. Let's hope it happens. The more game situations this team can get, the better they should look. Tonight was only the middle part of what we hope is a long road to Brazil.
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