GUATEMALA CITY -- Guatemala will open a training camp at Project Goal on Thursday in advance of its last two matches in the third round of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying. Head coach Ever Hugo Almeida named a 23-player squad last Friday that is a mixture of experience and new names.
A key inclusion was veteran striker Carlos Ruiz, the Bicolor's all-time leading scorer, who is currently without a club; the same situation in which young striker Henry Lopez finds himself. Ruiz has scored four goals in this qualifying campaign, including three in the last two outings.
Also among the veterans is Dwight Pezzarossi, who scored the third goal against Antigua and Barbuda on Sept. 7 in Guatemala City, reaching 15 goals in 59 caps with the national team.
In the back, the national team's most experienced central defenders are conspicuous by their absence, mostly due to injury. The Guatemalans will be missing the presence of usual trio Elias Vasquez, Luis Rodriguez and Carlos Gallardo, complicating Almeida's scheme.
Much more could be required, then, of goalkeeper Ricardo Jerez, and a midfield that includes the addition of Sergio Trujillo, one of the four players called from Municipal. The Rojos' arch-rival Comunicaciones provides five players to the selection, mostly outside backs and midfielders.
Minor Lopez, of Deportes La Serena in Chile, and Marco Pappa, new addition of SC Heerenveen in the Netherlands, are the only players named who play for clubs outside Guatemala.
Guatemala hosts Jamaica on October 12 at the Estadio Mateo Flores in Guatemala City, before traveling to Kansas City, Kansas, for a match four days later against the United States at LiveSTRONG Park to close the semifinal round.
Guatemala, Jamaica and the U.S. are tied atop Group A at seven points each, while Antigua and Barbuda have already fell from contention. Only the top two teams will progress to the final round.
GUATEMALA ROSTER
Oct. 12, 2012 home v Jamaica; Oct. 16, 2012 away v USA
GOALKEEPERS: Jaime Carbajal (Universidad de San Carlos), Cristian Alvarez (Municipal), Ricardo Jerez (Marquense)
DEFENDERS: Rafael Gonzalez (Malacateco), Ruben Morales (Coban Imperial), Erwin Morales (Comunicaciones), Claudio Albizuris (Municipal), Jonathan Wilson Lalín Lopez (Marquense)
MIDFIELDERS: Manuel Leon (Xelajú), Wilfred Velasquez (Comunicaciones), Carlos Figueroa (Comunicaciones), Jose Manuel Contreras (Comunicaciones), Sergio Trujillo (Municipal), Marco Tulio Ciani (Universidad de San Carlos), Gonzalo Romero (Marquense), Marco Pappa (Heerenveen/Netherlands)
FORWARDS: Minor Ignacio Lopez (Deportes La Serena/Chile), Dwight Pezzarossi (Comunicaciones), Lester Ruiz (Suchitepéquez), Mario Rodriguez (Municipal), Henry Lopez (unattached), Carlos Ruiz (unattached)
