St. Louis • As the Guatemalan national anthem played before the game, it felt more like an away World Cup qualifier in Guatemala City than a Concacaf Gold Cup semifinal in the American Midwest.
Thousands of Chapines descended on Energizer Park to watch their team play in its first Gold Cup semifinal in 29 years. It was an extremely prideful moment for a country that is trying to build its national team back into a competitive outfit.
It took less than four minutes for the American fans to be heard, however.
Diego Luna jumped on a rebound inside the box to put the U.S. up in the fourth minute, eliciting an enormous ovation from the American fans in the building, then doubled his output 11 minutes later. The two goals would be enough — just barely — for the U.S. to advance to the Gold Cup final with a 2-1 win, but only after they survived a frantic final 10 minutes following an 80th-minute Guatemala goal.
The U.S. will head to Houston for the Gold Cup final on Sunday night, where the winner of Mexico-Honduras, who play later Wednesday night, will be waiting.
Luna, the Real Salt Lake star who has become a leader of this Gold Cup group, grabbed the opportunistic first goal after Luca de la Torre’s shot from distance was parried back into the box.
His second goal was much more impressive. Sebastian Berhalter, Malik Tillman and Patrick Agyemang had a nice little combination on the right side to work out of pressure in the 15th minute, and Tillman played a switch over to Luna in space. The 21-year-old winger accelerated at the Guatemala back line, used a little shimmy and stepover to beat his defender and stung a shot inside the near post to give the U.S. a 2-0 lead.
Guatemala had its share of chances. Rubio Rubin, the former U.S. youth national team standout, had a goal called back for offside. The Chapines had a few other solid opportunities, but none that overly threatened U.S. goalkeeper Matt Freese.
Luna looked like he might have had a chance to complete his hat trick in the 41st minute as he and Agyemang raced into open space, but the Charlotte FC forward played a pass behind Luna instead of into the open space to kill off the counter.
Agyemang had a chance again on goal alone in the second half, but he allowed Guatemala goalkeeper Kenderson Navarro to get a hand on the ball. Agyemang gathered the ball again, but his shot went well wide of the net as Guatemalan defenders scrambled back.
The wasted chances would come back to nearly bite the U.S.
The Americans failed to kill off the game in the second half — or to kill off Guatemala’s spirit. They were content to sit deep and concede possession to Guatemala, which kept the visiting fans invested in the game and gave their rivals hope that they could get back into the game.
It felt like an odd way to see out the game rather than try to exert superiority. It invited pressure. Even one Guatemala goal would turn the momentum completely in favor of a team that had a crowd trying to will them back into the contest.
That’s precisely what occurred. The strategy backfired when Guatemala’s Olger Escobar scored in the 80th minute, lifting the mostly blue-and-white clad crowd into an absolute frenzy. That turned the final 10 minutes plus stoppage time into survival mode for the U.S.
The U.S. threw on Walker Zimmerman as an extra center back to see out the game against a team ranked 106th in the FIFA rankings, 90 spots behind the Americans. Guatemala pressed for an equalizer, forcing Freese into a diving save in the second minute of extra time.
The U.S. got the win, but it was far more difficult than it could have been.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side now heads to Houston with a chance to win the Gold Cup for the first time since 2021, when an extra-time win over Mexico was achieved with a similarly-constructed roster. That win, with a number of first-choice regulars not with the group, energized the U.S. program after a Nations League win over Mexico earlier in the year.
This U.S. contingent will hope it, too, can capture a signature title, which would double as Pochettino’s first trophy as U.S. manager.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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