Diego Luna scored both goals for the United States men’s national team to hold off Guatemala on Wednesday at Energizer Park in St. Louis, Missouri, and book themselves in the final of the Concacaf Gold Cup.
A highly-charged game was in store for what seemed to be a pro-Guatemala crowd among the 20,000-plus on hand. Head coach Mauricio Pochettino opted to maintain the same lineup from the quarterfinal, employing his 4-2-3-1 formation.
The Americans drew first blood four minutes into the contest when Alex Freeman’s cross from the right side found Luca de la Torre at the top of the 18-yard box. Guatemala goalkeeper Kenderson Navarro stopped the midfielder’s shot, but Luna was on the spot to recover the loose ball and fire it home.
The attacking midfielder doubled his country’s lead eleven minutes later when Malik Tillman played a long pass to the left side. Luna then went on a charge as he dribbled the ball past a defender to blast a shot from the edge of the area and into the goal.
The 2-0 lead gave the U.S. a good advantage, but Guatemala did not give up throughout the first half as they pushed to reduce the deficit. They came close in the 28th minute when Jose Rosales delivered the ball to Rubio Rubin. The former U.S. youth international thought he had scored, but the referee ruled it out due to offside. Los Chapines had another chance before halftime when Jose Morales’ headed attempt from a corner kick forced Matt Freese to make a reaction save.
The U.S. entered the second half to score a third goal to give them some breathing room, but it would not come as they had to do all they could to hold off the scrappy Guatemalan side.
The host nation put themselves in a tense situation in the 80th minute when Guatemala scored to cut the deficit. Arquimidez Ordonez’s short pass found Olger Escobar, who slotted a shot to the lower left-hand side of Freese’s goal.
It was a valiant effort from the opposition, but the U.S. was able to hold on as they now head to Sunday to try and win their eighth Gold Cup crown.
Next, it is a date with cross-border rivals Mexico at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.
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