The United States look to build on a narrow 2-1 win at Antigua & Barbuda with a home match at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park against Guatemala on Tuesday, October 16. What will the USA need to do if they want to win the match and advance to the final round of World Cup Qualifiying?
Feed off the crowd
It will be a raucous and energetic crowd at LSP and the USA need to feed off that energy. They'll still need to play composed but the crowd should give them a lift and make it tough for Guatemala. The USMNT need to follow the lead that Sporting KC have set in the last two seasons and make LSP a fortress.
Quick start
This ties into the previous point as the USA could effectively take Guatemala out of the match with a great start. The USA has had the lead in recent matches but struggled to keep their foot on the pedal. A quick start (2-0 or 3-0 lead by halftime) on Tuesday could put all the pressure on Guatemala and allow the team to play more relaxed. If the USA don't have an early lead or good start, then it could force them to take more chances and be vulnerable on the counterattack.
Carlos Ruiz & Marco Pappa
The two players who are most dangerous for Guatemala are playmaker Marco Pappa and veteran striker Carlos Ruiz. Pappa scored the equalizer in Guatemala which denied the Americans a win and Ruiz has scored in three consecutive matches. Guatemala may not have the overall depth of the USA but they certainly have individual players capable of scoring goals.
Convert chances
Soccer can be a cruel sport in which one team can dominate chances and possession but not win the match. The USA will probably have more chances but need to turn these into goals. It's a somewhat regular occurence in soccer when one team cannot finish their chances and the opposition ends up stealing the match by converting their one good chance. Players like Graham Zusi will need to provide good service and its up to attacking players Herculez Gomez, Clint Dempsey, and Eddie Johnson to score the goals.
