José Morales sent Guatemala to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup with the clincher over Canada in a 6-5 penalty-kick decision after a 1-1 draw on Sunday.
Rubio Rubín scored the tying goal with a header in the 69th minute for Guatemala, which is 106th in the FIFA rankings and reached the semifinals for the first time since 1996. Guatemala will meet the United States in St. Louis on Wednesday, while Mexico plays Honduras in the other semifinal in Santa Clara, California. The championship is in Houston on July 6.
The seven-round shootout was a fitting end to a fast-paced and feisty contest that went down as one of the best of this biennial tournament for North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The blue-and-white-clad fans of Guatemala flocked to U.S. Bank Stadium and made the announced crowd of 32,289 sound almost like a sold-out NFL game inside the home of the Minnesota Vikings with the translucent roof.
Jonathan David scored on a penalty kick in the 30th minute for 30th-ranked Canada, which won its group with two wins and one draw but had to play the second half with 10 men. Canada has been bounced from the quarterfinals in four of the last five Gold Cup tournaments.
Canada forward Jacob Sheffelburg was ejected in first-half stoppage time for a second yellow card, after lowering his elbow during a mid-air collision for the ball that knocked Guatemala defender Stheven Robles to the ground.
Dayne St. Clair, an MLS All-Star who plays just a few miles away for Minnesota United, made two saves for the Reds in regulation against a consistent if erratic attack as Guatemala had an 11-5 edge in shot attempts and a 58% possession rate.
Oscar Santis had a shot for Guatemala from just outside the box off a high-bouncing ball that he booted over the top of the net in the 53rd minute, but he set up Rubín’s header with a textbook cross from the left sideline.
US gets past Costa Rica in Gold Cup quarterfinals on penalty kicks
Minneapolis (USA), Jun 30 (AP): Damion Downs scored in the sixth round of a shootout after three saves by Matt Freese, sending the U.S. to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup with a 4-3 penalty-kicks win over Costa Rica after a a 2-2 tie on Sunday night. The U.S. advanced to a Wednesday matchup in St. Louis against Guatemala, which upset Canada on penalty kicks in the opener of the quarterfinal doubleheader.
Freese batted away shootout attempts by Juan Pablo Vargas, Francisco Calvo and Andy Rojas.
“Penalties are my thing,” Freese said. “On the plane ride over here to to Minnesota I was studying the penalties and I’ve been studying them all week.”
Mexico plays Honduras in the other semifinal on Wednesday in Santa Clara, California. The championship is in Houston on July 6.
The U.S. has reached the semifinals in 17 of 18 Gold Cups, including 13 straight since a penalty-kicks loss to Colombia in a 2000 quarterfinal.
Diego Luna and Max Arfsten scored in regulation for the No. 16 U.S., which faced its highest-ranked opponent of the tournament in Costa Rica (54th) after breezing through the group stage with an 8-1 goal differential. Alonso Martinez scored the tying goal for the Ticos in the 71st minute with a left-footed shot after Carlos Mora split Luca de La Torre and Arsten to take a shot on Freese and seize the rebound to set up Martinez.
CONCACAF changed the rules for this edition of the biennial championship for North America, Central America and the Caribbean, eliminating extra time except for the championship game.
John Tolkin had the first chance to win the shootout for the U.S. Keylor Navas knocked down his try in the fifth round.
Freese then denied Rojas with a diving hand, climbing to his feet while nodding his head and sticking out his tongue toward his cheering teammates at midfield. That set up the winner by the 20-year-old Downs.
Missing the tournament for the U.S. are regulars Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, Gio Reyna, Antonee Robinson, Folarin Balogun and Sergiño Dest, due to a variety of reasons from injuries to rest to Club World Cup commitments.
The Ticos played without four key players. Forward Manfred Ugalde, who had three goals in the tournament, and midfielder Carlos Mora were suspended for yellow-card accumulation. Defender Ariel Lassiter (broken left hand) and forward Warren Madrigal (broken left leg) were sidelined by injuries.
Three of Costa Rica’s six goals during the group stage came by penalty kick, and Calvo added another one in the 12th minute after a foul by Arsten. Calvo went low to zip the ball just out of reach of a diving Freese.
Malik Tillman put a 37th-minute penalty kick off a post and Navas knocked away Arfsten’s attempt off the rebound.
Luna scored his first international goal in the 43rd by rocketing a shot off the chest of defender Alexis Gamboa. Tillman made amends for his miss early in the second half by poking a pass ahead for Arfsten, who surged in from a wing to send the ball into the opposite corner for a 2-1 lead.