USA vs Guatamala Game Thread

[Red Reign]

Just a heads-up if you forgot the game on Tuesday 12 June will be a PPV broadcast only.....if you have Direct TV it will be on Channel 124.....I have not decided if I will purchase it or not....will be a game day decision for me...

Why the broadcast is so late I have no clue.....as Guatamala is in the Central Time Zone....so it seems like a late start time....

UStream usually does a pretty good job in the events I have seen....

How can I purchase the U.S.-Guatemala match on pay-per-view?

The match between the U.S. and Guatemala on June 12 is available for purchase live on both cable and satellite pay-per-view through iN Demand, DIRECTV, DISH Network and Avail-TVN. The match will be available in either English or Spanish for a suggested retail price of $29.95. Kickoff for the match is at 10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, June 12. Online pay-per-view is also being offered at ustream.tv.

Fans can also follow the match on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker, as well as Twitter @ussoccer.

http://www.ussoccer.com/live/wcq-tv-faq.aspx


A couple of blog sites I like to follow for in-game comments (guys are on-site) with a Live Blog are at SI.Com and Soccer By ives....I will post those in the game thread on Tuesday evening so you can follow along in real-time....they usually do an outstanding job.....very timely stuff....

I will post more as I find out things...

[Red Reign]

Did some searching on UStream and here is the link to the game....

Same price as on TV...$29.95


http://www.ustream.tv/integratedsportsppv

[Dotsee]

GOnna skip this one, think that is a little steep for me, well at least for this game anyway

[Red Reign]

I probably will too....

GOnna skip this one, think that is a little steep for me, well at least for this game anyway

[Red Reign]

Thought I would get this started as the game is about 24 hours from now....will post the live game blogs once they are up tomorrow night....PPV information is in post one...

[Red Reign]

El Salvador - Mexico is on Telemundo at 8:30 PM CST.....should be a great game...

[Red Reign]

Ankle bruise....may play tommorow night....Johnson is iffy....so we need Paco if he can make a go of it....

Goal.com Tell us about this injury. What happened? What’s the outlook?

Paco Torres: Everything is coming along great. It was just a tough tackle in the last game. It’s part of the game. The recovery is going great so I’m not too worried. I look to be back on the field soon

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/1679/...s-all-to-shoot

[Red Reign]

I read in another piece that Torres may be okay to play....

Options at left back for Tuesday's game include bringing back Fabian Johnson, injured in warm-ups before the Canada friendly, moving Carlos Bocanegra over from center back or going with Michael Parkhurst.

Klinsmann is likely to go with the latter option, even if left back is a position at which Parkhurst has only played occasionally for Danish champion FC Nordsjaelland.

It would be risky to bring back Johnson, while there are not exactly many choices to replace Bocanegra in the middle.

http://www.socceramerica.com/article...n-outside.html

[Red Reign]

FYI.....the 'Fish' is still the captain of his country.....talented goal scorer....but also a real nutter....

The Guatemalans are a lot more talented than Antigua and Barbuda – and far hungrier for a victory after starting the Semifinal Round with a loss to Jamaica.

Even for USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann, winner of a World Cup in 1990 and European Championship in 1996 as a player with his native Germany, what awaits him will be a new experience. Fans pelting the players with debris, sub-par field conditions, unbearable heat and humidity and police in riot gear are the norm in that part of the world during a high-stakes match. For players like Tim Howard, Carlos Bocanegra, and Landon Donovan, the situation will be similar to past World Cup Qualifiers. Experienced or not, it is always a tricky task to play a Central American opponent on its home turf.

The most familiar name on the roster is Ruiz. The team captain and all-time leading scorer with 49 goals in 95 appearances boldly called on his squad to string together as many points possible versus Jamaica and the United States. The 32-year-old Ruiz, who plays for Mexican club Veracruz.

Another storyline out of Guatemala involves the players who won’t be in uniform. The team began its quest for Brazil ’14 just weeks after its national federation suspended three players – team captain Gustavo Cabrera, Guillermo Ramirez and Yony Flores – after the trio were embroiled in allegations of match-fixing. Cabrera, a former Los Angeles Galaxy striker, and the others have officially been suspended because of "indiscipline.”

http://www.ussoccerplayers.com/ussoc...mala.html#more

[Red Reign]

Interesting stuff....gives you an idea why its so tough to play in Central America....

[Huskers57]

I have a feeling one might be able to get a hi-jacked feed from justin.tv tonight...

That's my hope so I can at least watch it...

[Red Reign]

These guys do a great job....will start 15 minutes before game time at 8:45PM CST.....oh and glad I'm on the west coast for this late start...


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...ala/index.html

[Red Reign]

This game is being done so on the cheap....

Both English and Spanish announcers are being provided. The English pay-per-view announcing team, which will call the action from a U.S. studio, is Joe Tolleson on play-by-play and Shaka Hislop on color. Tolleson has worked in a variety of sports on the local and national levels, including soccer. Hislop, a Howard University graduate, enjoyed a long and successful goalkeeping career in England and played for Trinidad & Tobago’s national team before joining ESPN in 2008.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...html#pagebreak

[Red Reign]

FYI....

How will the U.S. handle a Central American road qualifier?

Can the U.S. unlock the Guatemalan defense?

What's the U.S.'s left back plan?


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...iew/index.html

[Porkchopexpress]

I'll pass on the PPV. I'm going to guess it'll be a horrible production, and obviously won't be in HD. I doubt they have more than 4 or 5 camera angles. Waste of $30 if you ask me.

With that said, I'm thinking team USA comes away with a 3-1 victory. Guatemala will try to do too much, needing 3 points, and will be vulnerable on counter-attacks. Team USA won't need to press as much, since 1 point will be enough, but will have an easier time taking advantage of Guatemala's mistakes, than the other way around.

[Red Reign]

There is no way we score 3 goals in Guatamala....we have won only one game their in 24 years....1-0 in 2008....

I'll pass on the PPV. I'm going to guess it'll be a horrible production, and obviously won't be in HD. I doubt they have more than 4 or 5 camera angles. Waste of $30 if you ask me.

With that said, I'm thinking team USA comes away with a 3-1 victory. Guatemala will try to do too much, needing 3 points, and will be vulnerable on counter-attacks. Team USA won't need to press as much, since 1 point will be enough, but will have an easier time taking advantage of Guatemala's mistakes, than the other way around.

[Porkchopexpress]

There is no way we score 3 goals in Guatamala....we have won only one game their in 24 years....1-0 in 2008....

It's a bold prediction, but I think the USMNT quiets some critics tonight. I was originally going to put down 2-1. I could be way off, and the USMNT loses 3-1, since it's tough to gauge what the playing conditions will be like in these Central American countries, but I'm an optimist.

[Red Reign]

Bold indeed....especially with the hostile atmosphere, a ref who will give us few if any calls and a rabid crowd who will do everything they can to make it hard on us....not to mention the Guats who play a very physical game....

I'll take 1-0 down their.....

FWIW they have not scored on us since 1988.....so you are being generous giving them a goal to begin with...

It's a bold prediction, but I think the USMNT quiets some critics tonight. I was originally going to put down 2-1. I could be way off, and the USMNT loses 3-1, since it's tough to gauge what the playing conditions will be like in these Central American countries, but I'm an optimist.

[Porkchopexpress]

Bold indeed....especially with the hostile atmosphere, a ref who will give us few if any calls and a rabid crowd who will do everything they can to make it hard on us....
not to mention the Guats who play a very physical game....

I'll take 1-0 down their.....

FWIW they have not scored on us since 1988.....so you are being generous giving them a goal to begin with...

I didn't realize that about Guatemala's scoreless steak. Guess that makes them due for a goal.

[Red Reign]

Uh oh....

I didn't realize that about Guatemala's scoreless steak. Guess that makes them due for a goal.