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21.11.07
Jamaica Guatemala
Last 3 matches -
17.11.07Guatemala0:1 (0:1)Honduras
17.10.07
Mexico2:3 (2:1)Guatemala
22.08.07
Panama2:1 (1:1)Guatemala
No didy-didy side!
Marvin Avila scored twice as Guatemala came from behind to beat a youthful Mexico side 3-2 in a bad-tempered friendly on Wednesday in which both teams ended the game with nine men.
Guatemala took the lead at the Coliseum when Rigoberto Gomez hooked home an Avila cross from close range but two quick goals put Mexico in charge.
Cesare Villaluz found Carlos Vela in the 31st minute and the striker made no mistake, screwing his shot past Guatemala keeper Paulo Cesar Motta to bring the scores level.
A minute later Villaluz was on target with a fine left-foot drive from the edge of the area to give Hugo Sanchez's side the lead at the break.
Both sides were reduced to 10 men in the 53rd minute when Villaluz and Guatemal's Carlos Ruiz were sent off following a fracas on the half-way line.
Nine minutes later Mexico were down to nine men when Gonzalo Pineda was dismissed for elbowing an opponent and Guatemala took full advantage of their extra man.
The Mexico defence's attempt to clear a corner fell only as far as Yoni Flores who hooked the ball into Avila's path and the Guatemala striker produced a superb first-time shot with the outside of his left foot that curled into the far corner.
In the 73rd minute Mexico defender Hector Moreno made a hash of an attempted sliding back pass and the ball fell to the alert Avila who slotted home from close range.
Guatemala had defender Lionel Noriega dismissed with six minutes remaining but held firm for an impressive victory.
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Since 1982, Guatemala have endured the stigma of being the only one of Central America's traditional heavyweights never to have qualified for the FIFA World Cup™ finals. Their regional rivals El Salvador and Honduras have made three appearances at the game's marquee event between them, and every four years the Chapines cherish hopes of emulating them only for their dreams to turn to dust time and time again.
Nevertheless, as they showed in the qualification tournament for Germany 2006, the determined Bicolores seem to be getting closer to the promised land. Last time around, inspired by star man Carlos "El Pescadito" Ruiz and coached by the Honduran Ramon Maradiaga, the Guatemalans came within just two points of a coveted final play-off place.
The first sign that the one-time makeweights were firmly in the running came in the semi-final round when they quickly surged to the top of Group 2, leaving Honduras and Costa Rica to battle it out for the second ticket to the final six-team group, which was eventually claimed by the Ticos.
Maradiaga's men could hardly have made a better start to the decisive round, holding Panama to a draw away from home and then beating Trinidad and Tobago 5-1. Slowly but surely, though, they began to lose momentum, finally running out of steam on an agonising afternoon in Port of Spain, when they led direct rivals T&T 2-1 with five minutes to go only to slump to a 3-2 defeat.
The ambitious Gomez promptly made qualification for South Africa 2010 his objective before taking his team to the US for the CONCACAF Gold Cup in June 2007, the first major test of his reign. Drawn in the same group as the hosts, the Chapines performed solidly to beat El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago into second place. That was as good as it got for the Central Americans, however, as their run came to an end with a surprisingly heavy 3-0 defeat by Canada in the last eight.
Guatemala's preparations for a tilt at a place in the South African sun have been going smoothly since then, Gomez's side doing their morale no harm whatsoever with an excellent 3-2 win over mighty Mexico on 18 October, a brace from Marvin Avila and another goal from Rigoberto Gomez sealing victory.
The emergence of the talented duo should provide leading light Ruiz, the nation's standard bearer overseas for many years now, with the support he has been looking for, fuelling expectations among the country's 14 million success-starved fans that Guatemala could just be about to take their place alongside the world's finest.
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Jamaica GuatemalaLast 3 matches -
17.11.07
Guatemala0:1 (0:1)Honduras17.10.07
Mexico2:3 (2:1)Guatemala22.08.07
Panama2:1 (1:1)GuatemalaNo didy-didy side!
Marvin Avila scored twice as Guatemala came from behind to beat a youthful Mexico side 3-2 in a bad-tempered friendly on Wednesday in which both teams ended the game with nine men.
Guatemala took the lead at the Coliseum when Rigoberto Gomez hooked home an Avila cross from close range but two quick goals put Mexico in charge.
Cesare Villaluz found Carlos Vela in the 31st minute and the striker made no mistake, screwing his shot past Guatemala keeper Paulo Cesar Motta to bring the scores level.
A minute later Villaluz was on target with a fine left-foot drive from the edge of the area to give Hugo Sanchez's side the lead at the break.
Both sides were reduced to 10 men in the 53rd minute when Villaluz and Guatemal's Carlos Ruiz were sent off following a fracas on the half-way line.
Nine minutes later Mexico were down to nine men when Gonzalo Pineda was dismissed for elbowing an opponent and Guatemala took full advantage of their extra man.
The Mexico defence's attempt to clear a corner fell only as far as Yoni Flores who hooked the ball into Avila's path and the Guatemala striker produced a superb first-time shot with the outside of his left foot that curled into the far corner.
In the 73rd minute Mexico defender Hector Moreno made a hash of an attempted sliding back pass and the ball fell to the alert Avila who slotted home from close range.
Guatemala had defender Lionel Noriega dismissed with six minutes remaining but held firm for an impressive victory.
---------------------
Since 1982, Guatemala have endured the stigma of being the only one of Central America's traditional heavyweights never to have qualified for the FIFA World Cup™ finals. Their regional rivals El Salvador and Honduras have made three appearances at the game's marquee event between them, and every four years the Chapines cherish hopes of emulating them only for their dreams to turn to dust time and time again.
Nevertheless, as they showed in the qualification tournament for Germany 2006, the determined Bicolores seem to be getting closer to the promised land. Last time around, inspired by star man Carlos "El Pescadito" Ruiz and coached by the Honduran Ramon Maradiaga, the Guatemalans came within just two points of a coveted final play-off place.
The first sign that the one-time makeweights were firmly in the running came in the semi-final round when they quickly surged to the top of Group 2, leaving Honduras and Costa Rica to battle it out for the second ticket to the final six-team group, which was eventually claimed by the Ticos.
Maradiaga's men could hardly have made a better start to the decisive round, holding Panama to a draw away from home and then beating Trinidad and Tobago 5-1. Slowly but surely, though, they began to lose momentum, finally running out of steam on an agonising afternoon in Port of Spain, when they led direct rivals T&T 2-1 with five minutes to go only to slump to a 3-2 defeat.
That result ultimately allowed the Caribbean side to book a play-off date with AFC hopefuls Bahrain. And when Leo Beenhakker's side strode to a place at Germany 2006, Guatemala were left to ponder what might have been. The near-miss prompted Maradiaga to move on, with the highly-thought-of Colombian tactician Hernan Dario Gomez stepping into the breach.
The ambitious Gomez promptly made qualification for South Africa 2010 his objective before taking his team to the US for the CONCACAF Gold Cup in June 2007, the first major test of his reign. Drawn in the same group as the hosts, the Chapines performed solidly to beat El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago into second place. That was as good as it got for the Central Americans, however, as their run came to an end with a surprisingly heavy 3-0 defeat by Canada in the last eight.
Guatemala's preparations for a tilt at a place in the South African sun have been going smoothly since then, Gomez's side doing their morale no harm whatsoever with an excellent 3-2 win over mighty Mexico on 18 October, a brace from Marvin Avila and another goal from Rigoberto Gomez sealing victory.
The emergence of the talented duo should provide leading light Ruiz, the nation's standard bearer overseas for many years now, with the support he has been looking for, fuelling expectations among the country's 14 million success-starved fans that Guatemala could just be about to take their place alongside the world's finest.
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