Minnesota United forward Tani Oluwaseyi and goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair surely had some friends in the crowd at Canada’s CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal against Guatemala. They were repping the northern neighbor in front of local Loons fans, after all.
But on Sunday, besides an appreciative cheer for the pair during the starting lineup announcement, U.S. Bank Stadium wasn’t feeling very friendly toward the Canucks. A reported crowd of more than 32,000, mostly swathed in Guatemala’s sky blue, let Canada know its allegiance as players approached the penalty spot during the tie-breaking shootout.
“It’s not something that we’re not used to,” St. Clair said. “Of course, you want … people cheering for you, but at the same time, it’s motivation.”
A 1-1 stalemate sent the game to penalties, and José Morales made the winning kick, 6-5, after Canada’s Luc Rollet ricocheted his attempt off the crossbar. Guatemala moved on to the St. Louis semifinal of the biennial continental tournament for the first time since finishing fourth in 1996.
“The Guatemalans, they show up everywhere,” Guatemala forward Rubio Rubin said. “We thought we weren’t going to have as many as we did in [group stage games in] Houston, or even Austin, but they showed up, and you could really feel it. They really pushed us to keep pushing.”
Just before the 30th minute, Oluwaseyi, the Loons’ leading goal scorer, drew both a penalty kick and the ire of the Guatemalan supporters. Defender Aaron Herrera poked the ball out from behind Oluwaseyi, making enough contact for a penalty, which Canada’s all-time leading scorer Jonathan David converted.
Oluwaseyi also had his team’s best nonpenalty chance, a 14th-minute header that Herrera dived to head away on the Guatemalan goal line.
But Canada didn’t get many more of those looks. Just before halftime, a late tackle by Canadian winger Jacob Shaffelburg earned him his second yellow card, forcing Canada to play the second half a man down, largely conceding possession and pressure to Guatemala.
