On a night when three points would have secured a spot in this summer's FIFA under-20 World Cup, the U.S. side could only come up with one Friday, playing to a scoreless draw with Guatemala in the second game of the CONCACAF qualifying tournament.
The U.S. side out-shot the Central Americans 13-4 but couldn't get anything past Guatemalan goalkeeper Carlos Reyes. The U.S. can secure a berth in Canada '07 on Sunday when they face the host nation of Panama (6 p.m. ET). Fans in the U.S. can see that match tape-delayed on GolTV at 7 p.m. ET.
After resting several starters in his team's 4-1 tournament opener on Wednesday, U-20 head coach Thomas Rongen inserted several key players for the Guatemala match, including Real Salt Lake midfielder and U-20 veteran Freddy Adu. Also in the starting 11 were Columbus Crew defender Tim Ward and his teammate midfielder Danny Szetela and Los Angeles Galaxy defender Nathan Sturgis.
Several players recently picked up by teams at the MLS SuperDraft also played a role, including starters Chris Seitz (goalkeeper, Real Salt Lake) and Anthony Wallace (defender, FC Dallas). New York Red Bulls forward Josmer Altidore entered the game in the 62nd minute as a substitute, while Revolution draftee Amaechi Igwe played the game's final 10 minutes as a replacement for Ward.
The Guatemalans proved to be tough competition for the U.S., particularly in the first half when the action was back-and-forth. In the second stanza the U.S. was more dominating, creating numerous chances to break the deadlock. Adu and several teammates had attempts at goal, but none could find the target and the stalemate stood to give the U.S. four points in two games.
The Americans can lock up a spot in their sixth straight U-20 World Cup with just a draw on Sunday at Rommel Fernandez Stadium.
Jonathan Nierman is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
