The USA hosts Guatemala in a vital World Cup Qualifier on Tuesday, March 29, 2016. The USMNT recently suffered a historic and moral deflating 2–0 World Cup qualifying loss to Guatemala only a few days ago. That was the first USMNT loss to Guatemala in 21 matches and 28 years dating back to 1998. That result has left the USMNT in a dire predicament. Jurgen Klinsmann’s men are under pressure to win Tuesday night’s return match on U.S. soil, if they want to revitalize their chances to participate in the upcoming World Cup tournament, to be held in Russia.
CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying: USA vs Guatemala and Group C likely scenarios.
Currently the USMNT are sitting in third place and lower half of Group C. The U.S. still have 3 matches left, but anxiety will climax on March 29th against Guatemala who exposed some of USA’s defensive weaknesses which came down to lack of concentration. Three points on Tuesday will right all the wrongs and reverse the USMNT’s luck, placing them back in the upper half of the group. With Trinidad hosting last placed St Vincent, it is very likely that the former will grab maximum points and remain top of the table with 10 points.
The USMNT will have two remaining matches after Tuesday’s crucial Guatemala fixture – first against St Vincent and then to table toppers Trinidad, both on home turf. So a win on Tuesday over Guatemala would give the U.S. a very good chance to still top the group, providing they win all their remaining matches.
U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann is fully confident that they can reverse their luck on Tuesday night. He was quoted as saying:
“There’s absolute trust in the players because you’ve got to move on.
“You know, s--- happens, but you’ve got to move on and that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to go back to Columbus and we’ll correct those mistakes, and there’s an absolute belief in these players.”
How many teams qualify for the World Cup from CONCACAF?
Only three teams from the CONCACAF group of 35 nations are given a guaranteed placement in the World Cup finals. The qualifying process is currently in its Fourth Round where 12 teams are divided into three groups of four, with only the top two sides in each section securing a spot in the Fifth and Final Round. So in order for the USA to remain alive in the qualifying, process they must do no worse than securing 2nd place in Group C.
In the final round, a six team league-style competition ensues, with the top three teams earning a spot in the World Cup. Fourth place, is still not dead and gets a shot at the the last berth in the World Cup via a two-legged playoff against a Nation from the Oceania confederation. In short, the dream is still well alive for U.S. soccer fans despite the embarassing loss in Guatemala!
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