29 years had to pass for Guatemala to return to a Gold Cup semifinal. The Guatemalan national team had a superb tournament, beating Jamaica in the group stage, eliminating Canada on penalties in the quarter-finals and pushing the United States to the limit in the semi-finals of the Concacaf tournament. Nicholas Hagen, the Azul y Blanco’s starting goalkeeper, recognises in an interview win MARCA’s ‘Marcador Internacional’ with Raul Fuentes and Javier Galvez that this historic participation “has been a long road with a lot of effort to try to get Guatemala back to where it needs to be”.
This generation of Guatemalan footballers not only took Guatemala back to the semi-finals of the Gold Cup, but also gave the Central American country its best ever performance in the tournament: third place. But the main goal for this team, to qualify Guatemala for its first World Cup, has yet to be achieved. “The World Cup is never out of sight for the players, we know it’s our goal and it’s what we want to do,” said the Columbus Crew goalkeeper.
Guatemala has been in search of the World Cup dream since the country’s federation joined FIFA in 1946. Nicho explains what it would mean for Guatemala to reach its first World Cup. “For the whole country it would be a dream come true. It would be a source of pride to be able to represent Guatemala in a World Cup. Guatemala is a soccer country that needs it.Its people are always supporting and with that dream intact to see Guatemala in a World Cup. It is something that Guatemala deserves. We have been making changes and the players are totally committed to make it happen. Nothing can be guaranteed but if there is one thing we have said it is that this group will give everything to achieve that.”
“Everyone thought we were dead”
The Blue and White was unlucky in the draw for the group stage of the Gold Cup, as it was part of the “group of death”, as Hagen describes it. A group C where it had to face Jamaica, Panama and Guadeloupe. “In a group where everyone thought we were dead, I think it was the group of death, we managed to get aheadand leave out a big team like Jamaica,” he said.
These rivals have not been easy for Guatemala historically, but in the first match against Jamaica, the Chapines caused an upset by defeating the Reggae Boyz 1-0. “In these short tournaments, the first match dictates a lot about how the rest of the tournament is going to be. The group of players came out in the best way. We knew what Jamaica wanted to propose and the quality they have on the pitch,” said the goalkeeper
That first victory “showed that Guatemala came to compete and to do things in the best way”. Subsequently, the Azul y Blanco lost to Panama (0-1) and defeated Guadeloupe (2-3) to qualify for the quarter-finals as second in their group
A great achievement since, “Guatemala had been suffering for a long time to get out of the group stages and compete in this tournament,” he recalls
Due to injury, Nicho was unable to play in the quarterfinals against Canada, where Guatemala won on penalties, but he did not miss the semifinals against the United States. “I’m super proud of everything that was achieved, because they gave everything, fought and played good soccer against teams like the United States,” he said.
“We went out with the desire and courage to play,” said Hagen. “I take away something that was key throughout the tournament.”
Finally, Nicholas talks about the current situation of Guatemalan soccer players. “Unfortunately, Guatemalans are not known in the world of soccer. I had to do a lot of work and knock on a lot of doors. I think we need this type of matches, this type of friction so that people see that the Guatemalan soccer player has a lot of quality, gives a lot of dedication and we leave our soul on the field. I think that this contact with top-level teams is something we have to keep having. Every time we play, that difference is less noticeable,” concluded the Guatemalan goalkeeper.
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