As a warm-up for the Copa America, the US Men’s National Team will take on Puerto Rico for the first time ever on Sunday. The 22-man roster includes 15 players eligible to be selected for the Copa roster, with an additional seven not on the original 40-man preliminary roster.
The US tossed Guatemala aside and won, 4–0. The US was dominant, it looked easy. Which inevitably leads one to ask, Why was it so hard on Friday?
While the outlook is a touch overcast just now, if results go the right way tonight, the US senior team could have made a huge stride toward reaching the next stage of World Cup Qualifying, and the U-23s could be in the Olympics.
Guatemala profited from two early defensive mistakes from the Americans to grab a 2-0 lead that they would never relinquish.
The US has a strong record against Guatemala, even during World Cup qualifying, having not lost since 1988 across 21 games. That said, Guatemala City is almost a mile above sea level, making it a tough place to play. A point is a fine result on its own, but the US really needs three.
In a game no one should have stayed up to watch, the US defeated Canada, 1–0 on a very late Jozy Altidore goal. Neither team cared about this game, and it showed. Or if they did care, it didn’t look like it.