Photo by Omar Martinez/ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
The United States Under-20 men's national team won its World Cup qualifying group. It also shut out both of its Group B opponents and scored six goals.
None of that matters anymore.
The United States will take on Guatemala in an U-20 World Cup qualifying quarterfinal on Wednesday night (10 p.m., ESPN3.com/ESPN Deportes) that will determine which CONCACAF nation reaches this summer's tournament in Colombia. Thomas Rongen's side appears to be in a good form, but the team will be tested by a Guatemala side playing in front of its home crowd.
That doesn't mean the U.S. team isn't favored. With a talented side consisting of players such as Gale Agbossoumonde, Joe Gyau, Amobi Okugo and Kelyn Rowe, the United States is expected to defeat a Guatemala side that beat Jamaica and lost to Honduras in Group A action.
After Honduras and Panama square off in Wednesday's other quarterfinal match, Rongen is all but assured to deploy the same 4-3-3 formation he used in the two group stage games. The lineup will probably look different than it did in Saturday's 2-0 triumph over Panama, though.
Rongen is likely to field a team that more resembles the one that opened the qualifying campaign against Suriname, with Gyau and Okugo probable starters after not playing on Saturday.
Team captain Perry Kitchen should also return to defense, having started the match against Panama in midfield. He will likely start with the usual suspects of Agbossoumonde, Zarek Valentin and Greg Garza in the back line, and goalkeeper Zac MacMath, who all started and played 90 minutes in both Group B games.
MacMath and his defense will be hoping to not concede a goal once again, but they'll have their hands full against the likes of Gerson Lima and Henry Lopez. Lima scored in both of Guatemala's group games, and Lopez has already been capped at the senior level.
In midfield, Rongen is likely to turn to his talented trio of Okugo, Rowe and Sebastian Lletget. Each has shown well so far, with Okugo dropping back to help link the defense with the attack while Lletget and Rowe spray passes and attack the goal.
It has been Rowe, however, who has arguably been the best of the three. Rowe leads the U.S. team with three goals so far, and he looks like a confident player riding a spell of good form. He should help keep Guatemala on its heels as it attempts to bounce back from a 3-1 loss to Honduras.
Bobby Wood, Conor Doyle and Gyau are the candidates with the best chance to start up top for the United States in this critical encounter. The three played well together against Suriname, with Gyau and Wood causing havoc on the flanks and Doyle being the strong target forward that poses physical problems.
As talented as the Americans are, a win against the hosts is not a sure thing. While the United States is the favorite to advance to its eighth straight U-20 World Cup, a Guatemala side desperately looking to reach its first will have most of the support at Estadio Mateo Flores in Guatemala City, making for a potential hostile environment for the young U.S. team looking to join Mexico and Costa Rica as CONCACAF World Cup participants.
