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Olympic Qualifying: Canada routs Guatemala (Mexico’s hopes wounded)

You know all that bad blood between Mexico and Guatamala? All that tension and animosity between the two soccer nations? Well, Guatemala scored some sweet payback today, though it came at the cost of an embarrassing defeat.

The Guatemalans suffered a 5-0 loss to Canada in Olympic Qualifying, a result that meant little to Guatemala, which had already qualified for the semifinals. What the score means is that Mexico must now beat Haiti by five goals tonight to advance to the Olympic Qualifying semifinals.

Yes, that’s right, five goals.

That sound you hear is Hugo Sanchez punching a wall.

What will happen now? Well Haiti still has something to play for, and can actually qualify for the second round with a win, so don’t expect Haiti to lay down for Mexico. If anything, the Haitians are in perfect position to take advantage of a desperate Mexican team.

As for what this all means for the United States? Well, if Haiti wins, then the USA faces Guatemala. If Haiti ties Mexico then the USA will meet Canada in the decisive semifinal. And if Mexico manages to score five or six goals in a shutout win? Well, then we get the USA-Mexico semifinal we were all expecting to happen before the day began.

Check back in here for a running commentary on Mexico-Haiti, but for now feel free to share your thoughts on the Canada-Guatemala result and what it means for Mexico. Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Haiti should have sanctions for that travesty. FIFA should throw the book at them because it was obvioud the fix was in. Somebody must have slipped the Haitian federation a sack full of pesos.

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  2. wow! what a piece of crap performance by both teams and not just the teams but the refs as well. Even more awful for mexico who couldn’t close all those opportunities they had let alone miss that penalty that would’ve saved them. Dos santos, vela, guardado, Nery where are you!

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  3. “Joshua Wagenaar went to college in my area at Hartwick, so its nice to see him doing so well. It is just to bad we will hopefully have to put some past him and knock Canada out.

    Oh and Ives you thing Wagenaar could be in the MLS some time soon, mainly with Toronto?”

    Tyler Hemming who also attended Hartwick was on the Canada team. Don’t expect Wagenaar to be with TFC anytime soon as he was already given a trial and failed to impress.

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  4. Glad to see Canada make it, and cant wait to see them play the US. I just hope the US can score more then 1 goal and not just from the penalty spot. I am also happy for Canada cuz there keeper, Joshua Wagenaar went to college in my area at Hartwick, so its nice to see him doing so well. It is just to bad we will hopefully have to put some past him and knock Canada out.

    Oh and Ives you thing Wagenaar could be in the MLS some time soon, mainly with Toronto?

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  5. The last 15 minutes of that game were a travesty of sportsmanship. FIFA should hand out a fine to the federations for that. That deserves to be Hugo’s last game.

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  6. Too bad for Mexico, they certainly had the opportunities to get the required number of goals. By the way, anyone know why the player on the sideline got ejected?

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  7. Yeah, Haiti doesn’t have much of a chance at this point, but Mexico is only up by 3 goals. They need 2 more in..oh wow, red cards erupt.

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  8. This game sure is fast paced. Not a lick of defense is being played by either team. Even Memo Ochoa has been coming far out of goal to jump start attacks.

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  9. Phillip:

    You may be right. I just assumed. I don’t understand why soccer would use head to head instead of goal difference. Ithought the only place that happened was in the U.S.

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  10. Wow! Guatemala really screwed Mexico, and to a lesser extent, Haiti. You have to wonder how intentional this result was by Guatemala. Normally you wouldn’t want to get beaten on purpose, let alone clobbered, but this was actually the best possible result for Guatemala. That is assuming Guatemala did not want to risk anything by going for a result, which was probably wise. Still, how often do you get rewarded so handsomely for being routed 5-0?

    The only team who had a chance of catching them- if Guatemala lost- was Haiti. Now, Haiti could pass them with a win, but they have put Haiti in a position where they have to beat a Mexican team that has to beat Haiti by at least five goals to survive! To make matters worse for Haiti, which under normal circumstances would have just needed a tie to lock up second place, they now need to win against Mexico to survive. Canada, who looked like they were going to be eliminated, now looks certain to qualify! Canada should send Guatemala a thank you card, at the very least!

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  11. Haha..that’s some funny stuff. Of course now that means that Mexico will blame Guatemala as opposed to taking responsibility for their poor performances.

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  12. I was watching the Canada game on ESPN360 (which answers your question Tim F. – Mex Haiti will be on as well). I left the game at about 40 minutes, and was shocked to see Canada up 2 – 0 after the halftime (Will Johnon 45′ 46′). They added two goals in the last 10 minutes of the game, too.

    Too early to say adios…

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  13. Just found out it’s on espn360 — I’ve got to watch Mexico try and beat Haiti by five goals.

    So much for getting ready for tomorrow. I’ve got to watch this!

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  14. This is stunning, outrageous news. When does Mexico-Haiti play tonight. I’ve got to follow this match. If Mexico wins by four goals or less, does the US play Canada?

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