Guatemala Edges Guadeloupe to Advance to Gold Cup Quarterfinal
(image via Ricky Vega)
Wednesday night’s Group C matchup at Shell Energy Stadium featured a nearly-eliminated Guadeloupe searching for their first points of the tournament, while Guatemala needed a win — along with a favorable result in the Panama vs. Jamaica match — to secure a place in the knockout stage.
The match opened with Guadeloupe pressing high and creating early danger, but they couldn’t capitalize. The game quickly turned into a back-and-forth battle, with both teams trading possession in the opening minutes.
In the 10th minute, Guatemala was awarded a penalty after a VAR review confirmed a foul in the box. Captain José Carlos Pinto calmly converted the spot kick to give Guatemala a 1–0 lead.
Guatemala began to assert more control, using the width of the field to stretch Guadeloupe’s defense. In the 28th minute, young forward Olger Escobar pounced on a loose ball and chipped it over the Guadeloupe goalkeeper to double the lead.
Just three minutes later, a long ball over the top caught Guadeloupe off guard again. The quick transition led to a suspected handball, and the referee initially issued a straight red card to a Guadeloupe defender. However, after a VAR review, the decision was overturned and play resumed with eleven on each side.
Guatemala continued to push forward and appeared to score a third through another moment of brilliance from Escobar in the 37th minute. But once again, VAR intervened — this time disallowing the goal for offside.
The first half ended with Guatemala in control, leading 2–0.
The second half kicked off with renewed energy from Guadeloupe. In the 50th minute, they earned a penalty of their own after a foul inside the box was confirmed by VAR. Angel-Freddy Plumain converted the spot kick, pulling one back and making it 2–1.
The match entered a slower phase, with both sides trying to break each other down. In the 70th minute, Guatemala found their third goal through a well-worked sequence down the left flank. A cross from near the byline found Rubio Rubin, who controlled it on his chest and finished calmly to restore a two-goal cushion at 3–1.
Guadeloupe showed resilience and continued to fight. In the 77th minute, Matthias Phaëton received the ball just outside the box, cut inside, and curled a shot toward goal. The Guatemalan goalkeeper got a hand to it, but couldn’t keep it out, closing the gap once again to 3–2.
Six minutes of stoppage time were added, and both teams pushed for a decisive goal — Guatemala to seal the win, Guadeloupe to snatch a late equalizer. In the end, Guatemala held on for the 3–2 victory.
With Panama easily beating Jamaica in the other group, it meant the win would be enough to send Guatemala into the next round. Guatemala finished second in Group C behind Panama to advance to the Gold Cup quarterfinals. They now await the final Group B results to determine their opponent in the knockout stage.
