ST. LOUIS — Diego Luna scored once, then he scored again, and just 15 minutes into this Concacaf Gold Cup semifinal Wednesday, the U.S. men’s national soccer team appeared certain of vanquishing Guatemala and seizing a spot in Sunday’s final.
But there was nothing easy about the remaining 75 minutes — not against an opponent that, with each stage of this regional tournament, grew in confidence and rode a wave of emotion cast by thousands of supporters at raucous Energizer Park.
The duress continued into the dying moments, but after conceding Olger Escobar’s 80th-minute goal, the United States escaped with a 2-1 victory that sent Coach Mauricio Pochettino’s squad to Houston to play defending champion Mexico.
“I loved it,” Luna said of the atmosphere. “It was awesome, man. That’s what every game should be like, and the Guatemalans should be very proud of the fan base they have and the energy they bring. It’s badass.”
In their final tournament before the World Cup next summer, the Americans extended their unbeaten streak to five and advanced to the Gold Cup final for the 13th time in 18 tries since 1991.
Luna, a stocky, 21-year-old midfielder for MLS’s Real Salt Lake, scored for the second consecutive game and further boosted his prospects of getting recalled to the roster as the World Cup nears.
Guatemala — No. 106 in FIFA’s rankings, 90 places behind the United States — had waited 29 years for a game of this magnitude, dating from a Gold Cup semifinal loss to Mexico. Los Chapines have never qualified for the World Cup and last advanced to the Olympics in 1988.
Inspired by their team’s success, thousands of Guatemalan supporters traveled to Minneapolis last weekend for a quarterfinal upset of Canada and swells of fans began arriving at Energizer Park several hours before kickoff.
For the first time in a consequential match, the Argentine-born Pochettino experienced a U.S. home match with a crowd supporting a Central American opponent — a common occurrence for decades.
“It was like [playing] in Guatemala,” he said. “The fans of Guatemala, I need to say, wow, unbelievable.”
Pochettino then spoke of the deep passion for the sport in much of the world but not here.
“Do you think that was a sport, two teams playing?” he said. “No, you play for something more. You play for emotion. … I saw a player from Guatemala crying. I said, ‘Congratulations, because you are in a good way.’ That is the way we need to feel and our fans to feel the same.”
“When we talk about culture, that is culture — to see your team, how [to] fight, how the fans behave,” he added. “That is an important thing we need to learn here in this country.”
He continued: “If you go to play sport only for fun, [in] the rest of the [world], you play to survive. You play for food, you play for pride, you play for many things. It’s not to go and to enjoy and go home and laugh.”
When the teams took the field, Guatemalan flags dominated the landscape.
“¡Sí, se puede!” or “Yes, you can!” echoed around the arena of 22,423 spectators.
The Guatemalan roars, though, were drowned out by a U.S. eruption in the fourth minute.
After a buildup on the right side, Luca de la Torre drove a 20-yard shot on target — a routine save for Kenderson Navarro. However, he punched the rebound a few yards in front of him. Luna stepped in front of José Rosales and sent in a six-yard left-footer.
Eleven minutes passed, and Luna was at it again — this time, on his own. Collecting the ball some 35 yards out, he accelerated, used a stepover dribble to throw a foe off-balance, cut inside to split two defenders, then lashed an 18-yard shot into the near corner.
Guatemala and its supporters were undeterred. The Americans lost their way and labored to alleviate danger. Guatemala created good chances, had a goal disallowed by a clear offside and forced Matt Freese to make a fine kick save.
Navarro made a wonderful save on Sebastian Berhalter’s deflected free kick, and Guatemala failed to take advantage of a scramble in the six-yard box. A rip-roaring first half came to a close with a two-goal — but unstable — margin.
The Americans were passive at the start of the second half, further fueling Guatemala’s belief.
“The problem is, two-nil, there is a feeling that always you are in danger,” Pochettino said. “And if you don’t score the third, that is the problem.”
Guatemala’s breakthrough came in the 80th minute. Escobar, an 18-year-old Massachusetts native, latched on to the ball with a sliding 14-yard shot that slid beyond Freese’s reach and into the lower right corner, sparking an eruption around the madhouse.
Freese made a diving save on Morales and, after another stretch of chaos, the United States exhaled.
“We need to hold the ball better in these moments under pressure,” Luna said. “It’s new for a lot of guys to play in environments like this. And just being better under pressure and in moments like that, that’s something we can build off. And this is a great example for what’s to come” on Sunday.
Mexico advanced with a 1-0 victory over Honduras in Santa Clara, California. Raúl Jiménez’s goal in the 50th minute was the difference.
