The United States Men's National Team (USMNT) faced Guatemala in the Concacaf Gold Cup semifinal at Energizer Park in St. Louis, Missouri on Wednesday, July 2nd. The match kicked off at 7 p.m. ET and was broadcast on FS1. The winner advanced to the final, with a chance to face either Mexico or Honduras.
The USMNT entered the match as heavy favorites. This marks Mauricio Pochettino's longest competitive camp in charge of the USMNT. Potential pieces of his World Cup roster for 2026, such as Diego Luna and Malik Tillman, are emerging during this window. However, after needing a penalty shootout to overcome Costa Rica in the quarterfinals, the USMNT needed to ensure a professional performance against Guatemala. A similar showing could have seen them crash out of the competition. Pochettino fielded the same starting XI from the Costa Rica match. The USMNT starters were Matt Freese, Max Arfsten, Tim Ream, Chris Richards, Alex Freeman, Tyler Adams, Luca De La Torre, Diego Luna, Malik Tillman, Sebastian Berhalter, and Patrick Agyemang.
Guatemala, led by manager Luis Fernando Tena, aimed to reach their first-ever championship match. They reached the semifinals for the first time since 1996 after an upset victory over Canada, also via a penalty shootout. Rubio Rubin, who scored the tying goal against Canada, leads the team with two goals in the tournament.
The USMNT has a strong historical record against Guatemala, with 16 wins, 5 losses, and 6 draws in 27 matches. In those games, the U.S. has scored 47 goals and conceded 19. Guatemala's last victory against the U.S. was on March 25, 2016, in a World Cup qualifier. The U.S. and Guatemala have met three times in the Gold Cup, all in the group stage or third-place match, with the U.S. winning all three encounters without conceding a goal. The only previous knockout-stage clash was in the third-place match of the 1996 Gold Cup, which the United States won 3-0.
This was the United States' 17th Gold Cup semifinal appearance. They have made 13 consecutive semifinals, the longest streak in Gold Cup history. The U.S. seeks a record 13th Gold Cup final appearance and an eighth Gold Cup title. Guatemala was aiming to reach a Concacaf final for the first time since the Gold Cup began in 1991. They last reached a Concacaf Championship final in 1969.
The USMNT's journey to the semifinal saw them win every match in the group stage before the quarterfinal win against Costa Rica. Guatemala, considered underdogs, advanced from their group after an upset win over Jamaica.
Going into the match, midfielder Tyler Adams noted that he knew how strong Guatemala is. The match was the first between the United States and Guatemala since the World Cup qualifying semifinals in 2016.
