U.S. Takes Third by Overwhelming Guatemala

An emphatic 3-0 victory over Guatemala in the rain and mud at the Coliseum on Sunday earned the United States third place in the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Sunday.

First-half goals by Eric Wynalda and Jeff Agoos and a second-half strike by Jason Kirovski were enough to subdue a talented but physically overmatched Guatemalan team in a game that often threatened to turn ugly.

Canadian referee Rene Parra, who appeared overwhelmed, calling Guatemala for 21 fouls, briefly a tournament record. Parra called 11 fouls on the U.S. team. Mexico committed 38 fouls in the final.

The Central American squad, in which midfielder Jorge Rodas stood out, had the upper hand in the early going, but either missed several excellent scoring opportunities or were denied by U.S. goalkeeper Kasey Keller.

“Guatemala could have scored one or two goals if it wasn’t for the brilliant play of Kasey,” U.S. Coach Steve Sampson said. “On the other hand, we could have scored three or four additional goals in the second half if we had just finished our opportunities.”

Once the Americans had survived those early scares and settled down, they began to dominate. Wynalda opened the scoring in the 34th minute with his tournament-high fourth goal of the Gold Cup and the record-setting 22nd of his international career.

A throw-in on the left sideline was collected by Claudio Reyna, who sent a long cross to the far post, where Wynalda rose to power a downward header that bounced over diving Guatemalan goalkeeper Edgar Estrada.

With that goal, Wynalda passed former teammate Bruce Murray to become the United States’ all-time leading scorer.

Stunned by the turn of events, the Guatemalan defense faltered again three minutes later, failing to clear the ball and allowing Agoos the chance to fire home a low shot from about 15 yards.

Kirovski, who plays in England on Manchester United’s reserve team and is considered the U.S. striker of the future, completed the scoring in the 88th minute, easily beating Estrada after receiving an excellent pass from Reyna.