After topping their Gold Cup group for the first time, Guatemala can make some more history on Sunday as a victory over Jamaica at TQL Stadium would secure their first-ever trip to the semi-finals of this tournament.
On matchday three, Los Chapines erased a pair of one-goal deficits, eventually defeating Guadeloupe 3-2, while the Reggae Boyz had no trouble getting past Saint Kitts and Nevis to claim a 5-0 victory.
Match preview
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The road to the quarter-finals for Guatemala has been littered with bumps throughout their opening three matches, but to their credit, La Bicolor have continuously found a way through.
On Tuesday, they were 20 minutes away from exiting the competition before coming to life with two goals in five minutes, while some heroic late goalkeeping preserved their narrow triumph.
Luis Fernando Tena's men have been boosted by an incredible amount of support in the United States, while half-time adjustments have also helped, with the Guatemalans scoring three of their four goals in the final 45 minutes.
On Sunday, they will make their first appearance in the last eight since 2011, when they were 45 minutes away from upsetting Mexico before eventually losing 2-1.
That opening strike from Carlos Ruiz in the fifth minute against El Tri in 2011 is the only time this team have ever scored in the last eight of this competition, while the current edition of Guatemala head into this match unbeaten in their previous eight games in which they have found the back of the net.
It has been over a decade since they last battled the Reggae Boyz on the international stage, when the Guatemalans came away with a 2-1 triumph in October 2012, with Ruiz and Carlos Figueroa netting on that occasion, ending an 11-match winless run against them.
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Although they failed to win their group for a second successive time at the Gold Cup, Heimir Hallgrimsson cannot have too many complaints about how his side performed in the opening round.
This year was the first time since 2019 that Jamaica ended the group stage of this tournament without a defeat, while their seven points earned is the highest total for this team in the first phase since finishing with that same total in 2015.
Their 10 goals scored so far at the Gold Cup are twice as many as they managed in all of their previous matches this year, with the United States being the only team that scored more than them in the group phase this time around (13).
Besides the USA, the Reggae Boyz have not lost a knockout stage encounter to another opponent in this competition since falling 3-1 versus Mexico in the 2015 final.
Jamaica have a 100% record versus Guatemala at this event, blanking them 2-0 in their previous Gold Cup encounter which took place in 2011.
They have never won in the knockout round of this tournament after conceding the opening goal, earning just one positive result when that has happened, drawing 1-1 with Costa Rica in the 1993 third-place match.
Team News
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Tena made two changes to his starting 11 versus Guadeloupe, bringing in Esteban Garcia instead of Carlos Mejia, while Rubio Rubin took the spot of Darwin Lom as the lone striker up top.
After sitting out of their opening game, Jorge Aparicio has come on as a substitute in the last two Guatemalan encounters, replacing Oscar Castellanos on Tuesday, while this team have employed the same back four of Aaron Herrera, Jose Carlos Pinto, Nicolas Samayoa and Jose Ardon in all three of their Gold Cup fixtures this year.
Rubin had a brace on matchday three, with Mejia notching the winner, though their place in the quarter-finals would not have been possible without the heroics of Nicholas Hagen, who stopped an 88th-minute penalty from Matthias Phaeton to preserve the victory.
Jahmali Waite got the start in goal for Jamaica last Sunday, replacing captain Andre Blake before third-choice keeper Coniah Boyce-Clarke came on to play the final eight minutes in what was his first appearance with the national team.
Saint Kitts goalkeeper Julani Archibald aided the Jamaicans with an own-goal after a half-hour before Jon Russell and Di'Shon Bernard each scored their first with the national team, while substitutes Daniel Johnson and Cory Burke added insurance markers.
West Ham striker Michail Antonio is still seeking his first of this competition, without a goal for Jamaica since January 2022, Shamar Nicholson has not scored for them since September 2021, while Demarai Gray has netted twice and set up a pair of strikes for his team, the only two goals he has ever scored for the senior side.
Guatemala possible starting lineup:
Hagen; Herrera, Pinto, Samayoa, Ardon; Castellanos, Saravia; Mendez-Laing, Galindo, Mejia; Rubin
Jamaica possible starting lineup:
Blake; Lembikisa, Lowe, Bernard, Lawrence; Reid, Johnson, Russell, Gray; Antonio, Nicholson
We say: Guatemala 0-1 Jamaica
Guatemala have defied the odds countless times at the Gold Cup this year, but we believe this is where their journey will end.
The Jamaicans might find it difficult to penetrate a well-organised Guatemalan backline, though the Reggae Boyz are a well-rounded group themselves with many players capable of stepping up in big moments, which is why we expect them to advance into the semi-finals.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
USA
Jamaica
Saint Kitts
Mexico
Qatar
Honduras
Panama
Costa Rica
Canada
Cuba
