Guatemala national football team

History

The national team, nicknamed "la Azul y Blanco" (the blue and white), made its debut in the Independence Centenary Games held in Guatemala City in September 1921, winning their first game 10–1 against Honduras. In the final, Guatemala were defeated 6–0 by Costa Rica. Guatemala entered a World Cup qualification process for the first time in 1958.

Beginnings and first attempt in the elimination stage of the World Cup

Guatemala created its first soccer team, made up of 22 players, on August 23, 1902. The team was split into two sides, blue and white. With time, clubs were made and eventually the Guatemalan National Team was created in 1921. Guatemala had its first game on September 14th, 1921 against Honduras. The game was played in Guatemala City and Guatemala beat Honduras 10 to 1.

Guatemala had success in several editions of the CCCF Championship (Copa CCCF), precursor to the Concacaf Gold Cup (Copa Concacaf), by being the runner up in three championships, 1943, 1946, and 1948. In 1958, Guatemala began participating in the qualifying rounds of the World Cup. It was placed in the first group, along with the teams from Costa Rica and the Netherlands Antilles. It placed last and was unable to score a single point.

Success in the 60’s

Guatemala’s performance in the qualifying rounds began to improve in the beginning of the 1960’s. In 1962 it was able to tie against both Costa Rica (4-4), while playing in Guatemala, and Honduras (1-1), while playing in Tegucigalpa. However, after being placed in the second group, it once again finished last.

Guatemala did not participate in the qualifying round in 1966. Before the process of elimination began, the FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) refused Guatemala’s participation for administrative reasons.

The Guatemalan National Team joined Concacaf in 1961. In 1967 it again showed the progress it had made when it participated in the Concacaf Gold Cup. For the first time and only time in its history, it placed first in the tournament. It was also the runner up in both 1965 and 1969.

1967 CONCACAF Championship

In 1967, Honduras hosted the CONCACAF Championship. Guatemala began the tournament with a 2–1 win against Haiti, followed by a 1–0 win over defending champions Mexico, a 0–0 draw against Honduras, a 2–0 win over Trinidad and Tobago, and a 2–0 win over Nicaragua, being crowned CONCACAF champions for the first time. Forward Manuel "Escopeta" Recinos was Guatemala's top scorer with four goals, including the game-winning goal against Mexico.

Results

1968 Olympic Games

In 1967, Guatemala showed some major progress by qualifying for the 1968 Olympic Tournament in Mexico City. In the first round, they won 1–0 against Czechoslovakia, and 4–1 against Thailand, and lost to Bulgaria 2–1. They went on the next round where they lost to eventual champions Hungary 1–0.

2006 FIFA World Cup qualification

Prior to the qualification process, many fans saw Carlos Ruiz as the main focus in providing goals for the national team along with his compatriot but elder Juan Carlos Plata. Many other stars such as Fredy, Garcia, Gonzalo Romero, Guillermo Ramirez and Martin Machon were expected to play huge roles as well. In 2006 World Cup qualifying, Guatemala started off well, advancing to the third round by beating Suriname 4–2 in the second round. In the third round they finished second behind Costa Rica in Group B tying at 10 points each, advancing to the final round. In the fourth round they started off well with a 0–0 draw against Panama and a 5–1 win against Trinidad and Tobago. Then followed a 2–0 loss against United States and Mexico and a 3–2 loss against Costa Rica, and after 3 losses in a row they finally won against Panama 2–1, then lost against Trinidad and Tobago 3–2, tied against United States 0–0 and then lost to Mexico 5–2 once again. Guatemala had 8 points with one game left, and a win and a Trinidad and Tobago loss against Mexico would get them to the playoff. They won 3–1 against Costa Rica but Trinidad and Tobago beat Mexico 2–1, ending one of the best runs in Guatemala football history. They finished in 5th place, 2 points away from a possible World Cup spot. Juan Carlos Plata and Martin Machón had announced their retirement from International Football in 2006.

2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

After a third place finish in the Uncaf Nations Cup in 2007, having made the knockout stage in the Gold Cup of the same year, and a couple of satisfying friendly matches including a 3-2 win against Mexico, many saw Hernan Dario Gomez as the next coach to lead Guatemala into the Hexagonal in the World Cup qualifying stage. However after losing 5-0 in early 2008 against a U-23 Argentine team, fans wanted Gomez out as coach and soon the Colombian would do so. In 2010 World Cup qualifying, expectations of being able to qualify for the tournament were set among the national team as Ramon Maradiaga had returned as coach after almost leading Guatemala to the World Cup 2006. They began well by having advanced to the third round by defeating Saint Lucia in a 9–1 aggregate in the second round. In the third round, Guatemala began with a 1-0 home loss to the United States, with controversies surrounding Panamanian referee Roberto Moreno, who was arbitrating the match, including not awarding a penalty in the first half in the favor of Guatemala after a handball from Steve Cherundolo as well as Gustavo Cabrera being sent off after colliding with Eddie Lewis in the second half. In their second match of round 3, Los Chapines were able to take home a draw in the closing minutes of the game against Trinidad and Tobago in Port of Spain after Carlos Gallardo deflected a free kick taken by Marco Pappa with his heels. On September 10th, Guatemala welcomed Cuba at home for their third match. Cuba shocked the Guatemala fans by taking the lead after Roberto Linares scored in the 25th minute however by halftime, Carlos Ruiz relieved the team with an equalizer. In the second half Carlos Ruiz scored once more, Mario Rodriguez and youngster Jose Manuel Contreras also scored and finished the game 4-1. With the win, they were able to collect 4 points, putting them in second place due to having a better goal difference that Trinidad and Tobago. The next two games were crucial in advancing to the next round. On October 11th, many fans have gathered around the Estadio Mateo Flores to support the national team in their home game against Trinidad and Tobago, heavily expecting a win. Despite being reduced to 10 men, the Soca Warriors were able to hold Guatemala to 0-0 stalemate, disgruntling the national team and fans. With hopes of getting a result in Havana four days later, Guatemala were unable to even get a point against Cuba, falling down 1-0 by halftime after Jaime Colome scored a penalty. Marco Pappa volleyed in an equalizer in the 80th minute, replenishing the confidence for the team but Urgelles was able to bring Cuba back on top in the 90th minute, complicating the hopes of Guatemala in qualifying for the World Cup with one game to spare. Meanwhile, the Trinidadians defeated the United States 2-1 at home, putting them in second place. Maradiaga was fired soon right after and Benjamin Monterroso, a less ambitious coach was apppointed, focusing on the upcoming edition of the Copa Uncaf the following January. A 2-0 away loss against the US confirmed the elimination of the national team, having finished in third place with 5 points, thus missing out on the final round. In the Uncaf nations cup, Monterroso wanted to introduce more younger players into the starting line up such as Minor Lopez, Ricardo Jerez and Wilson Lalin but everything backfired after losing both group stage matches against Costa Rica and Panama as well as losing astonishingly 2-0 to an inferior Nicaragua team in the play off match for the final berth to attend the next Gold Cup; Minor Lopez was the lone goal scorer for Los Bicolores. As a result, the national team were inactive for the next two years and Benjamin Monterroso shamefully stepped down after two months in charge.

2014 World Cup cycle

On May 2010, Uruguayan born Paraguayan Ever Hugo Almeida was appointed as the next coach for Guatemala. At the 2011 Copa Centroamericana, formerly known as the "UNCAF Nations Cup", Guatemala finished in fifth place, losing to Costa Rica 2–0 and Honduras 3–1. In the fifth place match, they defeated Nicaragua 2–1 to qualify to the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

At the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Guatemala drew against Honduras 0–0 despite being reduced to 9 men. In the next match, they suffer a loss against a physically superior Jamaica 2–0 but managed to redeem themselves after having won against Grenada 4–0 goals from Jose Javier Del Águila, Marco Pappa, Carlos Ruiz, and Carlos Gallardo. Placing among the best third place, they saw themselves advancing to the quarterfinals, where they lost against the reigning champions Mexico 2–1 although a long ball from Elias Vasquez to Carlos Ruiz gave them the lead in the first half.

For the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Guatemala opened qualifying in the second round by sweeping 6 wins in 6 games, advancing to the third round in the same group as USA, Jamaica and Antigua and Barbuda. Prior to the start of the third round, Three of Guatemala's key players Guillermo Ramirez, Gustavo Cabrera and Yony Flores were sent home during a practice session after teammates Carlos Ruiz and Luis Rodriguez have heard of their involvement in money laundering and bribery in fixing multiple fixtures; they were subsequently banned for life in participating in any football competition abroad or domestic. Nonetheless, Los Azules y Blancos had a rough start in an away loss to Jamaica with Dwight Pezzarossi only managing to pull back one goal in stoppage time. In the next match only this time at home, Guatemala had gone down once again after Clint Dempsey managed to get a goal for the US but Marco Pappa's free kick later in the game managed to bring Guatemala 1 point. For the third game in a row, also at home, they managed to fall behind once again against the unexpected Antigua and Barbuda, with the field in terrible condition after an immense amount of precipitation. In the second half with the Antiguan goalkeeper Molvin James sent off for wasting time, Carlos Ruiz was able to score a brace making the game 2-1, an additional goal from Dwight Pezzarossi eventually ended the game 3-1. Four days later, a lone goal from Carlos Ruiz sufficed for an away win against Antigua and Barbuda in North Sound. In the next fixture, a crucial one, Guatemala battled against Jamaica at home filled with fans in blue and white. In the 15th minute, Los Chapines were able to take the lead with a remarkable dribbling and finish by veteran Carlos Figueroa. A controversial foul in the box by Jose Manuel Contreras rewarded the Reggae Boys with a penalty with Luton Shelton beating Ricardo Jerez. After more than 20 minutes, the silenced crowds in the stadium came back to life after a corner header by Carlos Ruiz gave back the lead to Guatemala which proved to have won the game, the first time ever against Jamaica. In their last game, a minimum of a draw would be enough to get Guatemala to the final stage of the qualifiers. After taking the lead 1-0 in the first five minutes thanks to Carlos Ruiz, the angry USA team returned the favor by scoring 3 goals to crush and end their hopes. Guatemala finished 10 points behind the USA and Jamaica, losing out on goal difference to the Jamaicans.

In January 2013, still led by Ever Almeida, Guatemala participated in the 2013 Copa Centroamericana. Consisted of mostly youngsters, Guatemala could only manage three draws in their group play (1–1 against Nicaragua, 0–0 to border rivals Belize and 1–1 against Costa Rica), losing out to Belize for direct qualification to the Gold Cup. They faced Panama in the 5th place match for the final slot in the 2013 Gold Cup in the United States but lost 3–1. Ever Almeida stepped down in favour of technical director Victor Hugo Monzón.

Home stadium

The Estadio Nacional Mateo Flores, also known as Coloso de la Zona 5, is a multi-use national stadium in Guatemala City, the largest in Guatemala. It was built in 1948, to host the Central American and Caribbean Games in 1950, and was renamed after long-distance runner Mateo Flores, winner of the 1952 Boston Marathon. It has a capacity of 26,000 seats.

Used mostly for football matches, the stadium has hosted the majority of the home matches of the Guatemala national football team throughout its history.

Olympic record

1896 to 1924 – Did not enter

1928 to 1964 – Did not qualify

1968 – Quarter finals – 6th place

1972 – Did not qualify

1976 – Round 1

1980 to 1984 – Did not qualify

1988 – Round 1

1992 to 2016 – Did not qualify

Note: Football at the Summer Olympics has been an under-23 tournament since the 1992 edition.

Schedule and recent results

Key

  Win   Draw   Loss

Current squad

The following 23 players were called up for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Trinidad and Tobago on 2 September and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on 6 September, 2016. Caps and goals updated as September 6, 2016 after the game against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Guatemala squad within the last twelve months.

Honors

CONCACAF Championship

Champions (1): 1967 Runner-up (2): 1965, 1969

Copa Centroamericana

Champions (1): 2001 Runner-up (5): 1995, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2014 Third Place (3): 1991, 2005, 2007

CONCACAF Men's Pre-Olympic Tournament

Silver Medal (2):1976, 1988

Pan American Games

Silver Medal (1): 1983

U.S. Cup

Third Place (1): 1999