MIAMI. - Thanks to an excitement filled 3-2 win over Guadeloupe at Red Bull Arena on Tuesday night, Guatemala are back in the quarterfinals of the Concacaf Gold Cup for the first time since 2011.
It’s been a long and difficult road for Central America’s most populous country, but since the dawn of the Concacaf Nations League in 2019, Los Chapines have been on the right track.
They dominated through League C in the first Nations League, and then found themselves back in the Gold Cup in 2021 after missing a few tournaments prior. They continued the positive momentum with a second successful Nations League performance, this time earning promotion from League B.
And now of course, they’ve advanced from Group D at the 2023 Gold Cup and are into the quarterfinals against Jamaica after topping their group with seven points. This marks the first time in history that Guatemala finished the group stage in first place.
Los Chapines have been perhaps the most outstanding defensive team of the tournament so far, conceding just two goals (both from set pieces) despite playing against two high-scoring teams in Guadeloupe and Canada. They will now face another prolific strike force when they take on Demarai Gray, Leon Bailey, and the rest of the Reggae Boyz in their quarterfinal clash with Jamaica.
But while the team’s tournament so far has largely been defined by their defense, it was the goal-fest against Guadeloupe that will go down in the history books as one of the great games Los Chapines have ever played.
It was a night in which heroes were made, but perhaps nobody carved out their own legend as much as Rubio Rubin. Rubin scored Guatemala’s first two goals of the match, breathing life into a team that looked like they were well on their way out of the tournament.
They were his first two career Gold Cup goals, and the forward was just grateful to be a part of the historic comeback. “As a striker, you want to score in every game, sometimes it's your time, sometimes it's not, and thank God today I got the goals that helped us to qualify for the quarterfinals,” said Rubin to Concacaf.com after the match.
The impact of the fans on Guatemala’s performances can’t be overstated either. In all of their matches, Los Chapines were backed by a faithful following that helped will the team to success. Whether it was a narrow win over Cuba, a 0-0 draw with Canada, or the comeback against Guadeloupe, things were never perfectly smooth for this side, but they were just able to ride the energy and get the job done, whatever that job may have been.
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, who has two assists for Los Chapines so far in his maiden Gold Cup, summed up the effects of the crowd nicely after the win over Guadeloupe: “They come out and support us and every game feels like a home game. They give us that extra boost, and to have that extra push we were able to fight our way back.”
Coach Luis Fernando Tena also referenced the impact of the fans following the win on Tuesday night. “It was vital. Without those 25,000 Guatemalans we would not have won,” Tena said in his post-match press conference.
Another star of the evening was GK Nicholas Hagen, who had a few good saves throughout the tournament and the Guadeloupe match in particular, but his defining moment came in the 87th minute of the final group match when he made an outstanding diving stop on a penalty to rescue the win and send his team through to the quarterfinals.
When Guatemala and Guadeloupe met in the 2021 Gold Cup Prelims, the match went to penalties and Hagen was subbed out prior to the shootout, which Guatemala wound up losing. Two years later, he got his chance and made the most of it. It’s a nice story of redemption for the 26-year-old, who has now stamped himself as Guatemala’s number one keeper going forward.
Jamaica have looked like one of the strongest teams in the tournament so far, in all facets of their game. Guatemala are flying high, but are fully aware of the challenges still in front of them. Riding an emotional high has worked so far, but the side are prepared to play with more than just emotions on Sunday. “We are going to play a smart game, and I think we can do damage,” said Hagen.
Tena also implied the side will need more than just good spirits to beat the Caribbean giants, noting: “We are very aware of how difficult Jamaica will be, obviously Jamaica will be the favorites, but in football there are many, many surprises, and we will try to give one.”
Should Guatemala advance, it would be their first appearance in the semifinals since 1996, back when the knockout stage only had four teams.
