US Cruise by Guatemala

The US national team finished up their semifinal qualifying round tonight with an easy 2-0 win over Guatemala, eliminating The Blue and White from World Cup qualification. In a match that Guatemala had to win to advance to the next round of qualification, it was the US that was the aggressor in the first half, as they dominated play and had the better of the chances, including a penalty claim when John Thorrington was brought down in the box. For having the run of play, the US went into the half scoreless.

In the second half, the US continued to be the team pushing the game while Guatemala seemed to be resigned to their fate. The US' young front 4 of Kenny Cooper, Jozy Altidore, Sacha Kljestan, and Freddy Adu gave the Guatemalans trouble all night, and in the 54th minute, a ball into the box by Altidore found Cooper, who knocked the ball between the Guatemalan keepers leg. The US continued to pressure, and in the 69th minute doubled their lead on a beautiful free kick from Adu for his first goal with the senior national team. In the 83rd minute, Wizards midfielder, Davy Arnaud subbed into the game for Adu, earning his second cap for the national team. In his 7 minutes, Arnaud didn't get much time to impress, and was unspectacular in that time. But with a 2-0 lead, you didn't expect Arnaud to do much on the field.