ST. LOUIS — The U.S. men’s national team is heading to the Gold Cup final, and from the fourth minute onward here at Energizer Park, that outcome was rarely in doubt.
The USMNT raced out to an early 2-0 lead in Wednesday’s semifinal, and ultimately beat Guatemala, FIFA’s 106th-ranked team, 2-1.
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But for long stretches of the first half, it struggled. At the 45-minute mark, Guatemala had more Expected Goals, and more than twice as many shots.
And over the final 15 minutes, after a Guatemala goal, amid raucous noise, the U.S. wobbled.
Fortunately for the Americans, they had Diego Luna.
Luna’s meteoric rise — from the outside looking in at the under-23 Olympic roster to the full USMNT’s starting lineup — continued Wednesday with a fourth-minute goal, then shot even further skyward with a 15th-minute banger.
With the confidence and borderline cockiness that head coach Mauricio Pochettino loves, Luna dropped his shoulder, shimmied, deked into the box, and slammed his second goal of the match past Guatemalan goalkeeper Kenderson Navarro.
“It’s just finding the rhythm and being able to get the freedom from the coaching staff and the team,” Luna said post-match about being the team’s difference-maker. “[Knowing] that they’re going to have my back and the trust of the defensive responsibilities, allows me to do what I do on the ball.”
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He silenced a pro-Guatemala crowd, and sped for the corner flag, and pointed to the U.S. Soccer crest on his left pec. He pointed to the name on the back of his jersey, then danced as his teammates mobbed him, and as Guatemalan hopes seemed to dim for good.
But then, over a somewhat shocking half hour, those hopes were rekindled.
They were rekindled by 20,000 Guatemaltecos, who injected unceasing energy into the evening, just kept chanting.
“Gua-té!” they shouted. “Gua-té!”
And even after their team went down 2-0: “Sí se puede!” Yes we can!
And their players responded.
Los Chapines, as their known, could’ve hung their heads. They could have conceded that the USMNT was simply better. But instead, playing in their first Gold Cup semi in 29 years, they fought. And they fought some more.
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They earned back territory. And gradually, they grew into the game. They created a few half-chances, then some legitimate chances. And the USMNT, which had spent the past 70 hours talking about fighting, didn’t fight back.
They nearly succumbed to the pressure. Their intensity slipped, and for around 20 minutes, the game was relatively one-sided — in favor of the side that not a soul expected to be in this semifinal.
Rubio Rubin, the Oregon-born Guatemala striker, got free in the box more than once, and nearly pulled the underdogs back into the match.
In the end, they simply didn’t have enough quality. They gave Luna and Malik Tillman too much space in the opening 15 minutes. And they couldn’t take advantage of the space that the USMNT, after a strong start, began to give them.
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In the second half, the U.S. stabilized. But Patrick Agyemang, Pochettino’s choice to start at striker throughout this Gold Cup, had his worst game in a USMNT jersey. His touches were sloppy. His passes were off. His finishing was wayward. He and his U.S. teammates seemed to get discouraged, and exhibited frustration.
Then, in the 80th minute, they conceded, and Energizer Park erupted.
The U.S. threw on a second left back, then a second center back, Walker Zimmerman. They held on for dear life against a team whose entire roster is worth about one-fourth of Tillman. Matt Freese scrambled to make a stoppage-time save.
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And in the end, they held out for a victory to advance to Sunday’s final.
But that, they surely know, will be a much tougher game. They’ll meet the winner of Wednesday’s second semifinal between Mexico and Honduras. They’ll have a chance to win a trophy. But still, in many ways, they haven’t proven anything yet.
A blow-by-blow recap of Wednesday’s game is below.
Wednesday, July 2
