USMNT team captain Michael Bradley (L) and striker Jozy Altidore. (Photo : Getty Images)
The CONCACAF 2018 World Cup qualifiers is again underway and a high-profile Group C encounter between Guatemala (1-1-0, 3 points) and the United States (1-0-1, 4 points) will conclude the matchday 3 event of the said tournament at the Estadio Mateo Flores in Guatemala City this Friday, March 25th.
Guatemala, the 2014 Copa Centroamericana runners-up, began the group stage competitions with a 1-2 loss in the hands of Trinidad and Tobago also at their home stadium of Mateo Flores on Nov. 13th of last year.
They were able to bounce back in their matchday 2 game, though, as they demolished lowly squad Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 4-0, at the Arnos Vale Stadium in Kingstown, Saint Vincent, via Soccerway.
Four different Los Chapines players contributed in the four-goal haul, namely defender Stefano Cincotta, attacker Minor Lopez, defender Dennis Lopez, and striker Gerson Tinoco, at the 23rd, 32nd, 48th, and 81st minutes respectively for head coach Walter Claveri's side.
Meanwhile, the United States had a good first two games in the competitions, crushing Saint Vincent in their opener, 6-1, at the Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri then forcing a goalless draw with contending squad Trinidad and Tobago at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, as per ESPN.
USMNT head coach Jürgen Klinsmann was reportedly satisfied with the one-point sharing in the standings with the Soca Warriors given his team's "poor run of form and results over the past four months".
The road game against the Soca is also considered as the Yanks' "most difficult road test during this semifinal round" and escaping from it with a point in hand is perhaps the best result that Klinsmann and his boys could hope for, according to the report.
With the draw, USMNT and Trinidad and Tobago are now tied at the top of the Group C table with four points each.
The predicted result is a tough 2-1 victory for the United States.
Guatemala starting lineup (4-4-2 formation): Motta; Lopez, Cincotta, Hernandez, Castrillo; Contreras, Papas, Marquez, Arias; Ruiz, Tinoco
United States starting lineup (4-4-2 formation): Howard; Cameron, Orozco, Besler, Yedlin; Diskerud, Bradley, Beckerman, Johnson; Altidore, Zardes
