Sports Writing, Jul 1 (EFE).- The Guatemalan team held firm this Saturday against Canada and obtained a valuable draw (0-0) on the second day of Group “D” of the Gold Cup which takes place in the United States. .

The Central American country’s team, under Mexico’s Luis Fernando Tena, managed to win with at least two clear scoring chances, although Canada also missed two chances to take the lead on the scoreboard.

Guatemala’s great strength was their defensive line, which had almost no mistakes like in the first game of the tournament against Cuba, where the Tena team won 1-0.

At the other extreme, Canada reached two points after drawing their opening matchday 2-2 upset against Guadeloupe in the other Group ‘D’ opener.

CLEAREST LENS OPTIONS

Guatemala had one of the clearest scoring chances in the 81st minute through Esteban García, in a play that caught the poorly organized Canadian defence. However, the shot from García, a Mixco player from Guatemala, went wide when he was alone in front of the rival keeper.

Already in the first half, the Tena team had shown their seriousness with a shot from midfielder Nathaniel Méndez-Laing, born in England but who is participating for the first time with Guatemala in an international tournament due to the ties of his ancestors with the Central American country.

Precisely Méndez-Laing, who plays for Derby County in the English second division, was one of the figures of the game for Guatemala.

For Canada, the clearest scoring option came in the 74th minute when Canadian Jacob Shaffelburg received a pass at the entrance to the small area and finished strong past the Guatemalan goal. The shot, however, was successfully saved by Guatemalan keeper Nicholas Hagen.

Shaffelburg, a player from Nashville in the United States Soccer League (MLS), came on as a substitute and was one of the sharpest options in the Canadian attack, which lacked depth.

Earlier in the first half, Junior Hoilett managed to convert for Canada, but his right-footed acrobatic shot ended just above Hagen’s goal.

Canada will face Cuba on the last day of the group while Guadeloupe will be the rival of Guatemala, in order to define the two teams which will advance to the quarter-finals.

– Technical sheet:

0. Guatemala: Nicholas Hagen; Jose Ardon, Nicolas Samayoa, Jose Pinto, Aaron Herrera; Alejandro Galindo (Pedro Altán, m.75), Rodrigo Saravia (Renato Sequén, m.85), Óscar Castellanos (Jorge Aparicio, m.85), Nathaniel Méndez-Laing (Esteban García, m.65), Carlos Mejía (Jesús Lopez, m.65); Darwin Lome.

Coach: Luis Fernando Tena (Mexican)

0. Canada: Milan Borjan; Steven Vitoria (Zachary Brault-Guillard, m.80), Kamal Miller, Richie Laryea; Moise Bombito, Liam Fraser (Zac McGraw, m.46), Jonathan Osorio, Ali Ahmed (Jacob Shaffelburg, m.65), Junior Hoilett (David Wotherspoon, m.65); Lucas Cavallini and Liam Millar (Charles Brym, m.65).

Coach: John Herdman (English)

Goals: There were none.

Referee: Marco Antonio Ortiz (MEX). He reprimanded Fraser, Bombito, Shafferlburg and McGraw for Canada, and Mejía for Guatemala.

Incidents: 2023 Gold Cup Group “D” second date match played at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas, USA.