The islanders took a surprising lead into the second half four days ago, as the tiny nation showed once again that it can compete with the bigger teams in CONCACAF. That performance left them confident heading into their second home match of the semifinal round.
"I'm pretty positive," Antigua and Barbuda head coach Tom Curtis said after the match, "because the first half showed tonight, we were the better team. And the boys were very, very positive, and they showed tonight we might be the better team.
"The boys will be very positive going into Tuesday evening. They'll feel hard done by coming out of tonight as do I, and we'll need to get ourselves together to get a win on Tuesday."
Antigua and Barbuda may have reason for confidence ahead of the rematch with the Chapines. Guatemala struggled for long stretches with its opponent's speed on the counter attack and the visitors had a some golden opportunities to net a few more goals.
It was an unexpectedly difficult battle for the home team, especially after being reminded all week that Guatemala had beaten Antigua and Barbuda by a score of 8-1 last time the Benna Boys visited -- though that was twelve years ago.
"They demonstrated that they're not as easy a team to beat as some said," Guatemala coach Hugo Ever Almeida said. "Twelve years ago they gave up eight goals, but the team has evolved. It won't be easy to beat them there, but that's what I have to think about now."
The game is likely to be all the more difficult because Antigua and Barbuda finds itself with its proverbial back against the wall. And after an impressive result at home on the second match day -- a scoreless draw with Jamaica -- the Benna Boys know what they're capable of at home.
"Now we have to go to Antigua and play another good game, to continue thinking about qualifying to the next round," said Guatemalan goalkeeper Ricardo Jerez. "That's what we're going to do, because this is all going to come down to the wire."
With four points from three matches, Guatemala finds itself tied for second in the group with the U.S., which is set to face off against group leader Jamaica on Tuesday night. With things in Group A closer than some might have expected, a false step by any of the contenders could significantly dent hopes to make the final round of qualifying.
"I think this is turning out to be a very even group," said Almeida. "Everyone thought that the U.S. was going to go to Jamaica and win, but it didn't happen that way.
"I think now the U.S. should be worried, because it's in the uncomfortable position of being the favorite and having to win at home. But that's their problem. We're happy with three points and now we think about Tuesday."
