DALLAS, Texas – Guatemala’s 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup will conclude on Sunday in their Group A finale versus Trinidad and Tobago. The Chapines suffered defeats in their first two matches against El Salvador and Mexico, resulting in elimination from advancing to the quarterfinals.
Nevertheless, the Guatemala supporters have been strong and present in each of the team’s two encounters and it should be the same in the group stage finale on Sunday.
Guatemala DF and captain Jose Pinto took a moment on Wednesday night following the team’s 3-0 defeat to Mexico to acknowledge the blue and white-clad flans that have voraciously supported the Chapines thus far in the tournament.
“Our fans have treated us so well here. The support is unconditional, regardless of the defeats, the fans are still following us and applauding us. We lost here today but they still applauded us as we left the field, so we’re thankful to those wonderful fans who continue to support us unconditionally,” said Pinto in an exclusive interview with Concacaf.com.
Facing Mexico is never easy and more so when pregame preparation is disrupted, but that was the case when a thunderstorm forced a delay to the start of the match. Overall, Pinto felt like there were some positive moments for Guatemala against the reigning Gold Cup champions.
“It was a tough game. It became difficult right at the moment when we began to warm up with the thunderstorm, the lightning. On the field of play we tried to put forth a way of playing. I think for stretches of the match we tried to do it, but we were up against a footballing power, who have things well-drilled, who have great players and are well-coached. At certain moments we left space open in the back and they took advantage of it,” said Pinto.
While a spot in the next round is out of their reach, fans of the Bicolor can be rest assured that they will see a motivated side hungry to finish the Gold Cup with three points.
“We have a game left against Trinidad, we are going to go out trying to win it. We want to give ourselves some joy. I think we deserve that joy. We have battled to earn our way and on Sunday we are going to come with everything to try to win that game because we are the ones who work together, suffer together and support each other when things don’t go well. We are going to play a game to win it,” concluded Pinto.
