The final day of Group B play in the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying saw an incredible amount of goals -- more than all the other matches put together. And by the end of the evening at The Home Depot Center, despite some remarkable late heroics, there was also a major surprise in the two semifinalists.
In the first match, Canada scored an amazing five goals versus Guatemala. Mexico, knowing it had to keep pace with that number in order to qualify, attacked constantly versus Haiti, which lost two players to red cards. Still, Mexico came up just a bit short, winning 5-1. Since goal difference was the first tie-breaker between teams tied on points in the group, Canada advanced to the semifinal and will play the U.S. in Nashville on Thursday. Guatemala, as winner of the group, will face Honduras.
In the opening match, a relaxed Guatemalan team ran out a number of their substitute players, but with stars like Marvin Avila and Jose Manuel Contreras, the Central American team paced the match and created the better of the chances in the opening minutes.
Canada's players improved as the match went on, however. Will Johnson, suspended for the match versus Haiti, returned to action with a vengeance.
"It was very frustrating to watch the Haiti game, because you always feel that you can make an impact," Johnson said. "You never like to leave your team hanging out there. I was fresh today and I took it upon myself to try to use my energy to make a difference."
Though Johnson helped create chances for Canada, he made the biggest difference when he lined up a free kick late in the first half and then slammed it home for the opening goal.
Coach Nick Dasovic noted that the first goal gave Canada the confidence it needed to energize the players.
Confusion helped Canada score the second goal against Guatemala. Avila started the second half on the bench, but his substitute wasn't immediately checked into the game. Canada had enough time for one attack with a man advantage and Johnson made the most of it, dribbling along the right side to attack the goal.
"Tyler Hemming played a good ball, and then I ran around the center back," Johnson said. "I tried to move the goalie out of the way and kicked it towards goal."
A third goal materialized after Johnson served in a corner kick that eventually fell to Toussaint Ricketts, who reacted immediately to knock the ball into the netting.
"The players were unbelievably remarkable today," said Dasovic. "They were fantastic and deserve all the credit for what they did on the field today."
Despite the lopsided scoreline, Guatemala's coach wasn't panicking on the sideline. He pointed out that his team had already qualified for the semifinals.
"This match didn't mean much for Guatemala," said Rodrigo Kenton, who defended the decision to rest some starters. "We have to think of players who are injured and those who are in danger of yellow card suspension."
Canada wasn't done with three goals, however. Ricketts had a run up the right side of the field, where he looked to be a cross to a charging Will Johnson. However, Ricketts knocked his pass long. The bad cross turned into a perfect strike, as the ball bent in behind Jerez and into the goal.
A final goal for Canada was scored in stoppage time, as Kyle Hall knocked in a corner kick.
"It was a really good team effort," said Johnson.
Canada's players and coach stayed to watch the second match, since it would determine their fate. A Haiti win or tie would eliminate Canada. A Mexico win by six goals would do the same. A five-goal margin would leave the teams tied.
Interestingly, even before they knew the score of the match, Mexico set a specific numbered objective for itself.
"We decided as a team that we were going to score five goals," said Cesar Villaluz. "Then we found out what happened, and knew we had to do exactly that. We were determined."
Villaluz was the first player to put Mexico on the scoreboard. Despite his small stature, the dynamic player powered in a header in the 17th minute from an Edgar Andrade cross.
Yet Haiti was no less determined to get at a tie, and that led to a desperate foul as Edgar Andrade broke free on a counter in the 29th minutes. Judelin Aveska brought him down to prevent a goal and referee Joel Aguilar immediately took out the red card.
Down to 10 men, Haiti still managed to hold Mexico off for the rest of the first half -- as Mexico continued to waste clear opportunities in front of goal.
In the second half, El Tri got their scoring going again in the 61st minute. Villaluz sent in a cross to an onrushing Andrade to make the score 2-0.
However, a Haitian counter was rewarded when Leonel Saint-Preux received a pass in the box from Alain Gustave and slipped a low shot past Guillermo Ochoa in the 63rd minute -- a vital blow to Mexico's hopes, as it turned out.
Mexico hit right back with a goal from Santiago Fernandez. The ball was passed quickly in the box from Andrade to Luis Angel Landin to Fernandez, who toe-poked it into the goal.
The space for attacks was conceded to Mexico because Haiti refused to go into a defensive shell, relying instead on the heroics of goalkeeper Johnny Placide, who turned in seven saves. The offside trap of Haiti also killed a number of Mexico's attacks, as the impatient Mexican forwards were caught upfield time and again.
"I told the players to get back, but on the field, they were thinking another thing and they kept pressing forward," said Haitian coach Wilner Etienne after the match.
The ferocity of Mexico's attack also caught the Haitians by surprise.
"We didn't think that they were going to come at us with so many," said Etienne. "The turning point was that so many of their players came forward. We were a man down and that was very difficult to deal with."
Yet Mexico self-destructed at times. Fernandez missed two shots from inside of five feet -- absolute sitters that had the Mexican fans groaning in disbelief.
Then a penalty kick was granted for a high kick in the box by Jacqueson Jean. Villaluz stepped up to the spot, but Placide was able to guess correctly and save the shot.
Another shot went off the post for Mexico, but in the 83rd minute, Esqueda finished off another pass from Landin. As the Mexican players raced to put the ball in the center circle and continue the match, tempers flared and a shoving match broke out. Jean was red carded for starting the scuffle.
Haiti finally dropped all its players back to deny a goal, but Landin broke through in the 90th minute. However, Mexico still needed one more strike to match Canada's goal differential.
In stoppage time, Placide had an impressive foot save against Landin to deny Mexico once again, and with it went Mexico's chance to reach the Beijing Games.
Many of the players participating had won the FIFA Under-17 World Cup and were considered a "Golden Generation."
"We're a good generation, but we have to prove that on the field," said Villaluz. "We came up a step short. As a player, you always aspire to the top. This time, we didn't reach our goal."
Mexican coach Hugo Sanchez, who also guides the senior national team of Mexico, could suffer the consequences of this failure and perhaps lose his job. He was stoic after the game.
"We won because we were a better team," said Sanchez. "As far as the effectiveness in scoring, we weren't calm on the final shot. We've been working on that, but it's obviously still a problem. Before the Canada game, we had the mentality to win. We didn't count on the Haiti goal. We set out to get 5-0, but we didn't quite make it."
Andrea Canales is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
