USA earns first WCQ win in Guatemala, 1-0

Carlos Bocanegra???  Who knew?

Anyways, Bocanegra's header in the 69th was all the Yanks needed to beat Guatemala in a crucial World Cup Qualifier in the god-forsaken home land of Toronto FC's newly acquired Carlos Ruiz.

Here's what head coach Bob Bradley had to say 40 fouls later, 10 yellow cards, 2 red cards and a partridge in a pear tree later:

"It was a very hard fought game, and for us a hard earned three points," said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley. "The win is based more on the determination of our team. Sometimes it's necessary to win games in that way. It was a game where we relied on the effort, team spirit, and the mentality of the group. Our experienced players have made the point to the team that qualifying is always difficult away from home. You have to expect games to be very tough. We have played some tough games in the last year, but none of them are qualifiers. To experience it and to win in that fashion is good for the group."

- U.S. Men's National Team Match Report -

Participants: U.S. Men's National Team vs. Guatemala
Competition: World Cup Qualifying - Semifinal Round
Location: Estadio Mateo Flores - Guatemala City, Guatemala
Date: August 20, 2008
Attendance: 25,000

Scoring Summary:
            1st      2nd      Final
USA     0          1            1
GUA     0          0            0

USA - Carlos Bocanegra (DaMarcus Beasley) 69th minute

Lineups:
USA: 1-Tim Howard; 15-Heath Pearce, 5-Oguchi Onyewu, 3-Carlos Bocanegra, 6-Steve Cherundolo; 10-Landon Donovan, 12-Michael Bradley, 4-Pablo Mastroeni (13-Maurice Edu, 78), 7-Eddie Lewis (17-DaMarcus Beasley, 65); 11-Brian Ching, 8-Clint Dempsey (2-Frankie Hejduk, 65)
Subs Not Used: 18-Brad Guzan, 9-Eddie Johnson, 14-Jay DeMerit, 16-Sacha Kljestan
Head Coach: Bob Bradley

GUA: 1-Ricardo Trigueno; 4-Yony Flores, 14-Luis Rodriguez, 7-Mario Rodriguez, 11-Guillermo Ramirez, 9-Carlos Ruiz, 5-Carlos Gallardo, 6-Gustavo Cabrera, 10-Freddy Garcia (2-Carlos Castrillo, 66), 15-Fredy Thompson (12-Jean Marquez, 64), 16-Jose Manuel Contreras (13-Marco Pablo Pappa, 74)
Subs Not Used: 18-Luis Molina, 3-Cristian Noriega, 8-Gonzalo Romero, 17-Dwight Pezzarossi
Head Coach: Ramon Maradiaga

Statistical Summary: 
                    USA / GUA
Shots                    9 / 16
Shots on Goal     3 / 7
Saves                    2 / 7
Fouls                   17 / 23
Corner Kicks        3 / 3
Offside                  3 / 3

Misconduct Summary:
USA - Steve Cherundolo (caution) 17th minute
GUA - Guillermo Ramirez (caution) 27.
USA - Clint Dempsey (caution) 27.
USA - Pablo Mastroeni (caution) 33.
USA - Steve Cherundolo (caution) 60.
USA - Steve Cherundolo (ejection) 60.
GUA - Gustavo Cabrera (ejection) 63.
GUA - Jose Manuel Contreras (caution) 68.
USA - Tim Howard (caution) 83.

Match Officials
Referee: Enrico Wijngaarde (Suriname)
AR1: Dion Inniss (Guyana)
AR2: Anthony Garwood (Jamaica)
4th Official: Jerry Budel (Suriname)

Sierra Mist Man of the Match: Tim Howard

post script: I now hate Carlos Ruiz even more!