After a thrilling penalty shootout victory over Costa Rica, the United States men's national team narrowly defeated Guatemala 2-1 in the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup semifinals, advancing to the final for the 13th time in history and first time since 2021.
The USMNT will face the winner of the Mexico vs Honduras semifinal game to be played at 10:00 pm ET tonight. The Yanks will be looking to lift their eighth Cocacaf Gold Cup and first since 2021 when they play in the final on Sunday, July 6 at 6:00 pm ET at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
Here are three thoughts from the semifinal victory at Energizer Park in St. Louis, Missouri.
Fast start, courtesy of Diego Luna x 2
With Guatemala fresh off a quarterfinal upset of Canada, the USMNT had to get off to a quick start and set the tempo. That is exactly what they did.
This is turning into Diego Luna's breakout tournament. Tonight, he bagged a brace when he scored in the fourth and 15th minutes.
His first goal was courtesy of a Luca de la Torre shot that goalkeeper Kénderson Navarro spilled. Luna pounced on the rebound to control the ball with his right foot before lashing a shot with his left to score.
Diego Luna opens the scoring | Courtesy FOX Soccer
Luna's second goal was even better. Malik Tillman switched the play with a long pass to Luna, who dribbled between two Guatemalan defenders before firing a low, powerful shot into the bottom left corner of the net. With this goal, the 21-year-old has three goals in the tournament and is tied with Tillman to lead the team.
Diego Luna makes it 2-0 | Courtesy FOX Soccer
The USMNT faded as the half wore on, but New York City FC goalkeeper and penalty shootout hero Matt Freese made three saves to stave off Guatemala and hold a 2-0 lead at the break.
Guatemala's run comes to an end
Guatemala surprised in its opening Gold Cup game, defeating Jamaica 1-0. They followed that with a close 1-0 loss to Panama and a narrow 3-2 win over Guadeloupe.
But Guatemala would pull off the biggest upset of the tournament in the quarterfinals, when they defeated Canada on penalties to advance to the semifinals for just the second time in history since first doing it in 1996.
The Guatemalan fans in La Barra de Guate, the US-based supporters group, contributed heavily to the atmosphere at a sold-out Energizer Park. Despite Guatemala's poor start to the game, the fans had something to cheer about at the end of the first half when Charleston Battery striker Rubio Rubin looked to score. But the goal was called back for offside.
Guatemala made it onto the scoresheet in the 80th minute. After the Guatemala attack moved easily through the US midfield, CF Montréal winger Olger Escobar fired a shot from the top of the box through traffic to beat Freese. It was the second time in five days that a Montréal player scored on a New York City goalkeeper.
The goal by the 18-year-old made the final 10 minutes plus stoppage time nerve-wracking for the USMNT.
Olger Escobar's late goal | Courtesy FOX Soccer
Head coach Mauricio Pochettino made defensive substitutions to see out the game, bringing on center-back Walker Zimmerman for left-back Max Arfsten in the 85th minute. The USMNT then parked the bus in a five-back formation to run out the clock. It wasn't pretty, but the USMNT survived a late Guatemala offensive push.
Matthew Mangam
Back to the final
After losing to Panama on penalties in the 2023 Gold Cup semifinals and failing to advance from its Copa América group in 2024, the USMNT is looking to raise a trophy as the team takes shape leading into the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Before this tournament, the USMNT had lost four straight games for the first time since 2007, and many questioned the decision to field a Major League Soccer-heavy squad missing star players such as Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, and Folarin Balogun. It seemed doubtful that the US could win close games, let alone reach the final.
But players like Arfsten, Alex Freeman, Freese, Luna, and Tillman have done enough to get the squad to the final, and are making the case that they should be included in next year's World Cup squad.
But this young team will face one more test on Sunday, when they face either Mexico or Honduras. This improving squad will hope to win the eighth Gold Cup in USMNT history, and lift the first piece of silverware under Pochettino.
