(Twitter thread)

Preview

Guatemala had had a change in head coach since the early phase of the group stage, as Jorge Roldán, who had led the team in their first two matches, had been replaced by the returning Rubén Amorín. Roldán had been relegated to the assistant role after the 2-1 loss in Costa Rica early in April, when a 78th minute winner had ensured a first loss of the campaign. Subsequently, they’d gone down by the same margin in the USA. Hence, they would need to get a result, preferably a win, with Trinidad&Tobago visiting Guatemala City on this occasion, as it would take them up to a point less than today’s opponents still with two games in hand. 

The Caribbean visitors had begun the group stage qualification rather slowly, with just two points from their first three outings, but three points from four in the double header with El Salvador recently has propelled them back into the reckoning in a tight group. Costa Rica are likely to have secured a World Cup berth already with their tally of 11 points, as they have completed their schedule. Under manager Everald Cummings they were looking to add further points to their current tally in order to maintain the pressure on the other teams in the group. 

Pos	Team	Pl	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
1	Costa Rica	8	5	1	2	10	6	11
2	USA	4	2	1	1	4	3	5
2	Trinidad&Tobago	5	1	3	1	4	3	5
4	Guatemala	3	1	0	2	3	4	2
5	El Salvador	4	0	1	3	2	7	1

The hosts would need to make do without Juan Manuel Funes, as the midfield man had been sent off in their loss at the United States. He was subsequently suspended for this fixture. 

33 year old Mexican Arturo Brizio Carter had been appointed as referee for this fixture. He had already officiated in two earlier CONCACAF Italia ’90 qualifiers: The second qualifying round encounter between Trinidad&Tobago and Honduras (0-0), as well as El Salvador v Costa Rica (2-4) most recently. 

Guatemala (4-3-3)

Player	Notes	Age	Club
22 Ricardo Jérez		33
2 Juan Manuel Dávila		26
3 Allan Wellman		35
4 Sergio Rivera		33
5 Víctor Monzón (c)		31
6 Marvin Ceballos
7 Carlos Castañeda		26
8 Raúl Chacón		25
9 Carlos Ortega		28
10 Óscar Sánchez		34
11 Byron Pérez	52′, sub 75′ (?)	30

Substitutes
13 Óscar Sims	on 75′ (?)	34
15 Erwin Donis		28

Manager: Rubén Amorín

Trinidad&Tobago (4-5-1)

Player	Notes	Age	Club
22 Michael Maurice		31
2 Clayton Morris (c)		27
3 Brian Williams	59′	27
4 Dexter Francis		25
6 Marvin Faustin		21
8 Hutson Charles	sub h-t	23
10 Russell Latapy		21
11 Leonson Lewis		22
14 Philibert Jones		24
15 Maurice Alibey	sub 80′	26
17 Kerry Jamerson		22

Substitutes
9 Marlon Morris	on 80′	24
16 Dwight Yorke	on h-t	17
x Floyd Lawrence
x Leroy Spann

Manager: Everald Cummings

Tactical line-up

Match report

First half: 

Our verdict is based on footage containing nearly 23 minutes of action from the first half, as well as just shy of 18 minutes of what happens after the break. It is the visitors who get the game under way through Philibert Jones and Russell Latapy. With the race for the second spot heating up, neither side can really afford to slip up. While this is our fourth assessment of Guatemala in this World Cup qualification, we are reviewing the Trinis side for the very first time. 

The pitch appears hard and bumpy, and in various areas across the pitch getting the ball under control isn’t always easy. The Guatemalan side, which may be ageing somewhat, with six players in their 30s, are fairly well equipped in terms of skill, and also spurred on by a sizeable home crowd, they will soon have the visitors pinned back in their own defensive third of the pitch. We have become accustomed to seeing them in a 4-4-2 formation, though on this occasion they are in a more attacking 4-3-3 version. 

Since we last saw Guatemala, in their 2-1 away loss at Costa Rica more than four and a half months earlier, they have made four changes to their starting eleven. Mind you, compared to their most recent qualifier, the 2-1 loss in the US two months ago, no less than six players have been replaced. We should bear in mind that the new team management had come in prior to the trip to USA, with head coach Rubén Amorín bringing along his own ideas. Based on this first half footage, they play an expressive, expansive brand of football, making use of the width and bringing their full-backs into play, and they will rue some missed first half opportunities which really could have brought momentum back in their camp. 

Trinidad&Tobago are left with little choice but to sit deep and try to soak up whatever it is that the hosts throw at them. They are compact through the centre, where skipper Clayton Morris leads by example at the heart of their defence, aptly assisted by Dexter Francis, and right in front of them sits Kerry Jamerson as a protective shield. While they are being attacked down the flanks, full-backs Brian Williams, so easily recognizeable with his long ponytail, and Marvin Faustin need to be alert, but they can’t always prevent the home side’s players, when they double in pairs along both flanks through full-backs and wide forwards, from getting crosses in. However, the delivery usually leaves precision to be desired. Credit must also go to a very well organized Trinis unit. 

One player in particular whom we’ve not seen previously in this qualification series, due to our lack of footage, is a 28 year old by the name of Carlos Ortega in the home side’s midfield. In a role not totally different from Jamerson’s in the visiting side, Ortega sits at the base of the Guatemalan midfield, and he allows the more creative forces such as Marvin Ceballos and Óscar Sánchez to push forward and concentrate on trying to unlock the Trinis’ defence. The 34 year old Sánchez doesn’t have the energetic Ceballos’ feet, but his close control and well-developed technical ability sees him a difficult outlet to stop when he receives the ball. Ceballos, though, is the driving force for the home side in this opening half with his tireless running and constant involvement. He attempts a couple of shots from distance which fail to hit the target. 

The central defensive unit within the home side are once again the experienced pairing of Allan Wellman, the team’s most senior member at 35, and typically renowned for his rolled-down socks, and skipper Víctor Hugo Monzón. The latter is certainly inspirational, and he will typically stride forward for attacking set-pieces. He arrives at two first half opportunities, although like the rest of the side he, too, fails to hit the target with either. The long-haired Juan Manual Dávila is a regular feature at right-back, and like compatriot Sergio Rivera to the left, he lends a helping hand in attack. Rivera has come on as a substitute during matches which we’ve reviewed previously, while he’s taken over for Alejandro Ortíz in an attacking left-back capacity on this occasion. He collaborates well with the often-involved Byron Pérez inside the visitors’ half. 

Our footage shows the packed house inside the Mateo Flores, and without doubt are the Guatemala fans vociferous, spurring their team on as much as they possibly can. The players draw energy from the enthusiasm, and they pin the Trinis back for large portions of the first half hour. Obviously, there’s no on-screen clock to let us know precisely how long we’ve been at it at all times, but twice we’re given brief displays of time, on 30 and 44 minutes respectively, to let us know to an extent the late first half timeline. Hence we see precious little in terms of attacking play from the visitors. When they break, though, they will make use of the highly gifted Russell Latapy in his central left midfield role, and as an outlet for his team mate, he’ll be sought after with little passes. In turn, he will try to bring into play either midfield compatriot Hutson Charles or wide right man Maurice Alibey, a very tall and lanky option down the flank. Lone striker Philibert Jones struggles to shake off Guatemala skipper Monzón, and is defeated whenever the ball comes airborn. 

In previous viewings, we’ve seen the tricky Carlos Castañeda in a central midfield role, while on this occasion he has been shifted into a wide right role. It seems to suit him, as he can make use of his nippy little runs to decent effect against the Trinidad&Tobago left-back. The home side’s front three complement one another well, as we see Byron Pérez often move in field and act as a second striker just behind the strong figure of Raúl Chacón. The latter is the focal point in the centre, and he imposes himself well in battle with the two away stoppers. However, the closest he gets to a first half goal is when he heads via the ground and a yard wide of Maurice’s upright from Castañeda’s cross. 

The best opportunity during the opening half arrives to Guatemala left-back Rivera, who is set up in a shooting position to the left inside the Trinis’ area, but while we had earlier in the half seen him swing even left wing corners in with his right foot, he opts a first time shot with the outside of his prefered left foot when making use of his right would’ve been a better option. He connects cleanly, but he’s unable to angle his attempt which is comfortably gathered in Maurice’s grasp. Castañeda had whistled a left-footed attempt after a run past Latapy just over the crossbar a bit earlier, and the goalkeeper would probably have struggled had it crept under. In addition to Monzón’s failed try to get his attempt on target from Rivera’s cross to the near post, the home side would have felt that they should have entered the dressing rooms at half-time at least a goal to the good. 

Half time score: Guatemala 0, Trinidad&Tobago 0. 

Second half: 

During the first half, there had been a very brief image of Hutson Charles laying on the ground receiving treatment by the touchline, and as the teams are ready to get the final 45 minutes under way, we hear that he’s been replaced by 17 year old starshot Dwight Yorke. He had actually started their previous three qualifiers, and possibly fell short of making the starting line-up on this occasion as Cummings begun with only one recognized striker. Eurosport commentator Peter Brackley informs us how Yorke ‘actually misses out on an examination due to his part-taking in this fixture’. 

There had been signs of improvement for Trinidad&Tobago towards the latter stages of the first half, when Guatemala’s intensity had waned off somewhat, and with that in mind: What were the manager’s thoughts in bringing another striker into play? Would it not have made sense to see whether they could maintain their level of improvement, and at the same time remain defensively stable? Couldn’t a switch in formation if they go with two strikers disrupt the balance of the team somewhat? 

As it would turn out, Yorke slotted into the inside right midfield position which Charles had held in the first half. Philibert Jones remained their lone striker. Cummings maintained his 4-5-1 formation. The Trinis managed to build on their improvement from the final ten minutes or so of the first half, and set about to cause the hosts some worry. 

There’s a couple of long punts dominating the early second half headlines, as Alibey decides to try his luck from all of 30 yards, only to see Jérez make a flying catch to the shot which would probably just have ended up beyond the post anyway, while Ceballos attempts one from a similar distance, from which Maurice tips the ball over for a Guatemala right wing corner. 

The hosts can’t really get into their rhythm which they had kept for what must have been the opening half hour or so in the first half. They are much less cohesive, and Trinidad&Tobago appear much more alert in terms of which dangers to look out for. We do see their deep-lying midfield man Ortega more involved, as our second half images are continuous from the off and through to 57 minutes. Alas, he doesn’t quite appear to be as gifted in his passing accuracy as, for example, Sánchez, while the latter, who operates in a more advanced position, is rarely brought into play. There is a situation around the 51 minute mark when Guatemala claim they should’ve had a penalty as Pérez nicked the ball off Alibey, only to seemingly be brought down from behind by the same man, just inside the area. The referee wants none of it, and instead produces a yellow card for the hosts’ wide left man. 

It is no total domination on the visitors’ behalf, but they are definitely more courageous since the start of the second half. Substitute Yorke, even at such a tender age, has plenty of presence about him, and he’s given the chance to deliver a right wing corner which the tall Alibey will stoop to head over. On his next foray forward, his energy and instinct sees him almost run through on goal, but the ball evades him as goalkeeper Jérez gets to it first, and it ends with a free-kick when Yorke is too rough in his checking of the custodian. 

Russell Latapy is someone very pleasing on the eye; the Trinis’ box to box midfielder in the #10 jersey is equipped with lovely technical ability. His influence on the game appears to steadily increase, and when the visitors do open the scoring, he is the mastermind behind the goal. They regain possession in their right-back territory, and quickly break through the pacey feet of Latapy. He makes use of Lewis, who had a few minutes earlier almost opened the scoring as he saw Jérez save an attempt from an angle, who returns Latapy the ball as the latter had taken up a more advanced position. From inside the area he holds off Wellman, before laying it back for holding midfield man Jamerson to strike it low first time into the bottom right hand corner. Elation on the away bench as the visitors take the lead!

In the wake of the goal, we are only privy to selected highlights, and we’ll see how referee Brizio Carter books Trinidad&Tobago right-back Williams for a challenge on Chacón some ten yards inside his own half. According to one statistical source, this booking occured on 59 minutes. The same source cites the time for Pérez’ yellow card as 52 minutes, which concurs with our footage. It is Williams’ second booking in successive matches, and it means he will be suspended for their forthcoming qualifier, namely the return fixture against Guatemala two weeks on. 

As Guatemala push forward in search of an equalizer, they leave themselves somewhat exposed defensively. This is something which the visitors were looking to take advantage of, as the quick-thinking and equally acting Latapy nicks the ball off Chacón inside his own half, before he sets off on a run that sees him jink his way past Wellman, and as he spots goalkeeper Jérez well off his line, Latapy tries a lob from 30 yards, but his left-footed attempt clears the bar by half a yard. 

By the time we see Marlon Morris being brought on for Alibey, the home side have already made their one and only substitution, as we see a player wearing the number 13 shirt in the background near the centre circle. This is Óscar Sims, while various sources mention Pérez as the player to have been withdrawn. Morris’ introduction alledgedly happens on 80 minutes, and he would appear to be a straight swap with right-sided midfield man Alibey. Shortly after, we see him involved, as he sets up lone striker Jones for a finish one on one with Jérez, and like Latapy before him, he opted for a lob. His, too, went off target, and he’d be clattered into by the goalkeeper, seeing him need treatment before the game could resume. 

The home side never come any closer than a poor Castañeda header well over, while the visitors break along the right through Jones, whose cross aimed towards the centre where both Yorke and Lewis have positioned themselves, takes a wicked bounce off the uneven surface and via the goalkeeper’s chest and away for a corner.

It would appear that Castañeda had switched to the left after the introduction of Sims for Pérez. The substitute can be seen towards the right hand side, but he is also the culprit in the centre of the pitch when he concedes possession to Jones, who races through to finish over Jérez’ crossbar. Chacón does little noteworthy according to our footage from the second half. 

Ultimately, Trinidad&Tobago can celebrate a strong away win, and in such a tight qualifying group, it is two points which could well propel them all the way through to Italia ’90. 

Full time scoreline: Guatemala 0, Trinidad&Tobago 1.