Preview

Two weeks on from Trinidad&Tobago’s precious 1-0 win in Guatemala City, which had propelled them into a World Cup qualifying spot ahead of USA in the standings, the pair would battle out the return fixture in Port of Spain. Naturally, in seeing their national team with a distinct possibility of qualifying for the global stage, the national stadium was packed with a near capacity crowd. Another win, which was probably expected, even though Guatemala had had some decent performances despite the disappointing points return, would see the Trinis move four points ahead of USA, although with a very uneven number of matches played. Going into the game, the qualification table read thus: 

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

Costa Rica are not far from being home and dry, but they can theoretically still be overtaken by both Trinidad&Tobago and USA. Should today’s hosts fail to register dual points, though, the Costaricans can prepare their World Cup attire. 

The home side on this occasion had to make do without suspended right-back Brian Williams, who had picked up his second booking of the campaign in Guatemala City. Manager Everald Cummings had featured precisely the same back four in each and every one of their 10 earlier qualification matches, though on this occasion he had to bring in Dexter Lee as a replacement in the right-sided defensive position. He had also opted to bring back into his starting eleven teenage hotshot Dwight Yorke, and making way was the gangly Maurice Alibey, who had featured to the right in their midfield five last time around. Yorke had been a second half substitute for Hutson Charles in Guatemala, but the latter is fit again to start here, so the formation remains to be seen: 4-5-1 again or a more attacking 4-4-2? We should add that Yorke is rumoured to go for a trial at English first division club Aston Villa. 

In the away side’s dug-out is head coach Rubén Amorín, who will be in charge of his third match in this qualification series after replacing Jorge Roldán in April after the 2-1 loss at USA. Since the home defeat two weeks earlier, the team management have made three changes to the starting line-up, and while we don’t know whether these were due to injuries or for tactical reasons, it is disappointing to not see Marvin Ceballos among the eleven. The busy midfield man had probably been his team’s best player a fortnight earlier. There is also no Byron Pérez, who has often been the source of inspiration down their left hand side. He had picked up a booking then, but we have no record of previous yellow cards on his account in the qualification series. Also, we have no full record of which players were making up the respective five man strong substitutes’ benches. Striker Raúl Chacón had also been omitted, so Guatemala on this occasion were without three of their main figures from the outset. It is also worth noting how they’re a considerably older side than the hosts. Coming into the eleven were Sims, Rodas and Paniagua. 

The referee is Peruvian César Cachay Díaz (50), who according to Eurosport commentator Peter Brackley is making his “final appearance” today, whatever that means. He doesn’t appear to have a major international pedigree, so perhaps was he leaving refereeing altogether? 

Trinidad&Tobago (4-3-3)

Player	Notes	Age	Club
22 Michael Maurice		31
2 Clayton Morris (c)		27
4 Dexter Francis		25
6 Marvin Faustin		21
8 Hutson Charles		23
10 Russell Latapy		21
11 Leonson Lewis		22
14 Philibert Jones	sub 75′	24
16 Dwight Yorke	sub 67′	17
17 Kerry Jamerson		22
19 Dexter Lee	55′	23

Substitutes
9 Marlon Morris	on 67′	24
15 Maurice Alibey	on 75′	26

Manager: Everald Cummings

Guatemala (4-5-1)

Player	Notes	Age	Club
22 Ricardo Jérez		33
2 Juan Manuel Dávila		26
3 Allan Wellman		35
4 Sergio Rivera		33
5 Víctor Hugo Monzón (c)		31
7 Carlos Castañeda		26
9 Adán Paniagua	87′	25
10 Óscar Sánchez		34
13 Carlos Ortega		28
14 Óscar Sims		34
17 Julio Rodas	79′, sub 80′	22

Substitutes
8 Raúl Chacón	on 80′	25
x Ricardo Piccinini
x Marvin Ceballos

Manager: Rubén Amorín

Tactical line-up

Match report

First half: 

On this occasion, the footage which we have available to us contains a total of 45,30 minutes of action, from which 21,30 minutes covers what happens before the half-time break, while a grand total of 24 minutes gives us insight into the second half proceedings. 

It is the home side which kicks off through forwards Philibert Jones and youngster Dwight Yorke. 

The first phase of the opening half is provided to us in real time, and so we’re able to have a look at both sides and how they wish to go about this game. The hosts are clearly up for it, as they’re spurred on by their enthusiastic support right from the word ‘go’, settling well inside the Guatemalan half of the pitch. They are a big, strong, athletic side, the Trinis, and they move the ball around well, asking questions of their opponents in the early exchanges. The visitors fail to even get out of their defensive third in these early exchanges, with a purposeful Trinidad&Tobago side really looking in the mood.

We’ve previously seen Guatemala in both 4-4-2 and 4-3-3/4-5-1, and on this occasion they’re clearly in the latter formation. Their midfield quartet, however, operates without a distinct right-sided player; they appear to have a left-sided bias. Lone striker Adán Paniagua is somewhat cut off from the rest of the team, at least early doors, as they simply can’t keep hold of the ball when they nick it from the hosts. We notice how the nippy Carlos Castañeda is filling in for Marvin Ceballos in that box to box role, just to the left of their most central midfield man Carlos Ortega, who had operated in the number 9 jersey two weeks earlier, but as he’s had to relinquish that shirt to Paniagua, he’s now wearing #13. Óscar Sánchez and someone whom we’re having a first real look at in this qualification series, Óscar Sims, are both working in a terrain somewhat to the right of Ortega. We’ll remember Sánchez’ playmaking abilities from the home loss against the Trinis, while Sims seems to be someone capable of making runs off the ball and pushing forward. 

The visiting defence is under the cosh early on. They concede some free-kicks, there’s a big catch from goalkeeper Ricardo Jérez from right-back deputee Dexter Lee’s deep cross towards the back post, and Juan Manuel Dávila must be alert to prevent the dangerous Leonson Lewis to wriggle his way into the area and get into a shooting position. There’s also a Yorke right wing corner, and a poke goalwards from the matchwinner last time around, namely Kerry Jamerson. All of these actions work together to emphasize the attacking intentions with which the Trinis commence the game. 

They’re hardly bothered by the absence of suspended right-back Williams, as the tall, robust Lee seems to fill in well. They are working their wide areas well, are the hosts, with Lee, the energetic Hutson Charles and young Yorke making up their right hand side, and with left-back Marvin Faustin, the highly skillful Russell Latapy and the quick and strong Lewis being their left-sided triumvirate, it seems a lot for the visitors to try and cope with. 

On the first occasion that the visitors arrive inside the Trinis’ half of the pitch, they take a shock lead. A long ball up from sweeper Allan Wellman at the back is won in the air by Paniagua, who defeated a somewhat passive centre-back Dexter Francis, and from the knock-down Sims ran into the area and fired goalwards, only to see Michael Maurice parry, though Castañeda arrived to the ball only to see his shot blocked by skipper Clayton Morris. The loose ball reaches Guatemala’s youngest player Rodas, who finds a gap to fire home with his right boot from 12 yards, past both Morris and Lee who were attempting to block the effort. 0-1!

“It is all about how you recover from set-backs.” The Trinis’ management would have wanted to see a response from their side, as falling behind on six minutes had hardly been in their pre-match ideas. And having spent the first five minutes of the game camped inside the opponents’ half, trailing to a sucker punch must have felt unjust. They try to work out an opening from a deep Lee cross from the right, and Lewis is very close to connecting, but Dávila can clear and mount a counter-attack which will culminate with goalscorer Rodas firing a left-footed shot off the crossbar from Ortega’s tidy pass. However, the whistle had gone for offside. It was, at best, a tight decision. Rodas looked on. 

When Trinidad&Tobago equalize just after the ten minute mark, it looks an easy goal, but it is a flowing move which starts from the back, when left-back Faustin finds Jamerson in the centre of the pitch. He treads a precise pass through for Lewis to run on to down the left hand channel, with right-back Dávila out of position. Wellman attempts to keep up, but he hasn’t got sufficient tempo in his legs, and Lewis makes it to within a few yards from the byline before he squares it into the centre, where Jones has a simple task of side-footing the ball into an empty net for the leveller. 

In the previous qualifier, we had seen Guatemala’s Castañeda in a wide role, while he had been moved into the absent Ceballos’ dynamic and more central role on this occasion. Mind you, prior to Sánchez’ introduction in these qualifiers, we had already seen Castañeda in a similar role, then to the right of their central midfield man. Castañeda was a busy, energetic player, your typical schemer, but he wasn’t quite capable of filling the shoes of his predecessor in the inside left role, as Ceballos had been pretty prominent last time out. The Guatemalan midfield as a unit wasn’t at the same level as a fortnight earlier, and this saw the Trinis maintain a grip on the proceedings in our first half footage. 

As Guatemala had shown through that earlier Rodas opportunity, albeit his effort which had hit the bar wouldn’t have counted regardless, as he was called off by the linesman on the near side, they were no stranger to a pacey counter attack. We’d previously not seen too much which had indicated that the ageing Sánchez’ feet were able to carry him at a particularly high speed, but he’d dart past Morris when Monzón had arrived first to the Trinis captain’s attempt at finding Jones, and then Ortega with a visionary pass had played him in. Sánchez had benefitted from the host skipper being wrong-footed, and he went on to the edge of the area, from where he drove his low, diagonal effort into Maurice’ diving arms. Good opportunity for the visitors to retake the lead. 

The surface of the pitch appears to take some battering, and it appears to deteriorate to an extent with the progression of the game. The home side wish to keep possession inside the Guatemalan half, and they will generally do so through fine passers of the ball such as Jamerson and Latapy, before they seek to engage wide players, with right-back Lee offering himself as an outlet, and a cross from him into the centre picks out Lewis, who’s arrived from his left wing position to head via the ground and just past the post after he’d won against Dávila in the air. There is another situation where Charles bursts forward and into the area by its right corner, where Monzón stands firm and bundles him off the ball with a robust body challenge. The fans scream for a penalty, but the Peruvian referee probably did the right thing in not responding. 

Down the other end, Guatemalan transitions keep producing reasons for concern on the Trinidad&Tobagan bench, where we from time to time see manager Cummings up on his feet, not entirely pleased with how things are going. Hitherto we’ve not seen a whole lot from Paniagua, who had come into the side in place of Chacón in the lone striker’s role, although he’d won an important header just prior to them taking the lead. However, played through by Ortega, he skips a challenge from Faustin and then rides another from Morris, before he shoots left footed from the edge of the area, just wide of the upright. Maurice probably wouldn’t have saved it had it been on target. 

The half-time score is Trinidad&Tobago 1, Guatemala 1. A point won’t suffice from the home side’s perspective, while Guatemala are predominantly playing for pride. They can be pleased with how the game is going so far. Amorín probably felt that they should have come in for their half time tea ahead. 

Second half: 

Kick-off through Paniagua and Sánchez. 

The opening few minutes see little pattern and distinctive passing play from either side. It is an untidy start to the final 45 minutes, and no team manages to settle. Both line-ups are identical with how they had set out from the beginning, and while influental midfielder Latapy had seemed to grow into the contest the longer the first half had evolved, he can’t quite stamp his authority on these early second half proceedings. Guatemala, who are aptly organized, fend off any attempt of an attack against themselves. Skipper Monzón is strong and committed in every challenge at the heart of their defence.

The uneven surface makes swift interpassing difficult. The home side do appear to have greater intent, which is hardly surprising in the circumstances. They try to make use of their physical strength from set-piece situations, and from one such occasion, a throw-in by left-back Faustin, Trinidad&Tobago come close to taking the lead. The defender’s throw evades Jones and Monzón, takes a bounce off the floor, something which unsettles Wellman, who makes a mess of an attempted headed clearance, and the ball finds its way to the impressive Yorke, whose header from four yards out is tipped over by Jérez. 

While the Trinis had come so close to scoring from Yorke’s header, the subsequent corner saw another huge opportunity wasted, as Charles’ right-footed delivery from the right flag was strangely fisted away by Jérez, but only straight out to Latapy, who, from the penalty spot, struck it low goalwards, only to see his effort blocked on the line, possibly by Rivera. 

The home side appear to tighten the screw in this phase of the match, as the second half approaches its halfway stage. There is little Guatemala are seemingly able to do other than clear the ball anywhere, though it’ll usually be returned back into their territory with interest. The visitors do not have sufficient means in midfield to hold on to the ball, as neither Ortega nor Sims or Sánchez are capable of keeping possession, and up top Paniagua might have the pace which their regular striker Chacón is without, but he’s easily knocked off the ball by the pair of strong centre-backs in the home side’s ranks. 

Trinidad&Tobago once again come perilously close to scoring when they mount another attack along the right which involves a number of players. We see Lee originally feed the ball inside for Jamerson, who in turn plays it forward for Yorke, who then brings Charles into play on the edge of the area. His header finds Jones, who then plays it sideways for Lewis, who comes in strong from his position wide to the left in attack, and when he connects with his forehead, the ball smashes off the upright with Jérez nowhere near. It was a sweet move which had 2-1 written all over it, yet they just couldn’t quite finish it off. 

Perhaps are the Trinis left ruing their inability to stick the ball into the back of the net as it would appear that Guatemala are clawing their way back into the game as we approach 75 minutes of play. They’re a well-skilled outfit, though perhaps with a lack of bite in central areas, and against a physically strong opponent such as Trinidad&Tobago, they’ve found it tough going, and especially on such a difficult surface. However, we see examples of how they are able to stroke the ball around with precision within their side once the Trinis’ pressure on the ball eases a little bit. However, they’re unable to make any attacking inroads so far in the second half. 

In an attempt to reinvigorate their search for a priceless winning goal, the Trinis management make a pair of substitution as the second half’s progressed beyond its midway stage, with Yorke along the right giving way for Marlon Morris, while Jones is replaced by the lanky Maurice Alibey up top. The latter brings a lot of height to their front line, and perhaps will they look to him for aerial balls towards the final stages. Monzón will have a somewhat different challenge to handle than he’d had in Jones, who was more about movement in his striker’s role. 

We’ve no images of the booking for Guatemala goalscorer Rodas, which is alledgedly taking place on 79 minutes, but we see him depart the pitch in order to be replaced by the previously mentioned Raúl Chacón, who will have been disappointed not to have featured from the start. Paniagua, though, continues in his lone role up front, with Chacón taking up an attacking midfield role, seemingly with Sánchez switching out to a left-sided role among the quintet. In the final stages, the visitors look to have fended off the threat from the hosts, as they regularly work their way up field and into the Trinis’ half. No wonder, though, if there are weary legs out there towards the end thanks to the demanding surface. 

There’s a desperately soft booking for Paniagua as he interferes with a Lee throw-in just inside the Trinis’ half of the pitch. Next up is a poor shot from left-back Faustin from an angle outside the area, and any chance that the hosts have to secure dual points appears to be gone. Both the players and those in the stands are frustrated. The switch from Jones to Alibey in the striker’s role hasn’t really been successful, as despite his height, Alibey has lost out in the air to the highly combative Monzón at the heart of the Guatemalan defence. Should they come away with a point, they’ll think it is merited, although they had been severely under the cosh earlier in the half, as the Trinis had wasted three glorious opportunities.

In these two’s previous meeting, Trinidad&Tobago had secured their win thanks to a long range strike from holding midfielder Jamerson. As we’re entering the dying stages, there’s a reprise of this unlikely scenario when Morris is able to hold the ball up inside the area, as he lays it off for Latapy to push it into the path of Jamerson, who once again lets fly low from 25 yards. His effort finds the back of the net with Jérez unsighted, and players and fans alike go on and celebrate like they have just reached the World Cup! Even members of the police can be seen on the pitch unable to hold their emotions back. What were the odds, though, of Jamerson striking yet another match-winning goal from distance, you wonder. Fascinating stuff!

The final pair of minutes see Trinidad&Tobago hold on to the ball until the referee decides that enough is enough, and with the ball airborn from a long Maurice kick, Cachay Díaz sounds his whistle one final time to spark further celebration among players, staff and fans. They look to be so close to their first ever World Cup participation, with just a home match against the USA left to negotiate, an opponent which they now lead by four points, although the latter have three games in hand. 

Final score: Trinidad&Tobago 2, Guatemala 1.