Guatemala GK Moreno: “I never could have imagined this”

SAN PEDRO SULA – Jorge Moreno did not only become a Guatemalan football legend on Wednesday night, he became a player that will forever live in Concacaf history.

Just two days after making a crucial penalty save in Guatemala’s Round of 16 contest with Canada in the 2022 Concacaf Men’s Under-20 Championship in Honduras, Moreno delivered one of the finest goalkeeping performances in Concacaf history at any level, saving four penalties in his country’s 2-1 penalty shootout win over Mexico in Wednesday’s CMU20 quarterfinal.

Moreno saved an Esteban Lozano penalty in the 88 ^th minute with the score tied at 1-1, and then followed that up with an astounding three saves in spot kicks to deliver Guatemala a berth in the 2023 FIFA men’s Under-20 World Cup in Indonesia, the country’s first U20 World Cup berth since 2011.

“I am still trying to process what happened. I still can’t find the words to explain it,” said Moreno in an exclusive interview with Concacaf.com.

“It was something incredible, an unforgettable night no doubt, not just for me but for the entire team and country. We’re very happy and now looking to the next game because another very important ticket is in play,” added Moreno.

While some GKs are keen to do extensive pre-match studying on players who might be taking penalties against them, Moreno seems to find success trusting his instincts.

“It is my intuition more than anything, to be honest. The penalty against Canada I hadn’t studied, that was all intuition. The first penalty that I stopped in regular time against Mexico, I had studied the player, Esteban Lozano, who always strikes it across his body and with power. I made sure I talked to him, to play with his mind. But in the shootout, that was all my intuition,” said Moreno.

That doesn’t mean Moreno isn’t reading into what the opposition is doing. If anything, his eagle eye for detail in the short moments before a penalty is struck can make all of the difference.

“There is a lot that goes into it, from when they grab the ball, where they put it. If they put it forward, or high up, or lowered. Where they stand, how much distance they take, where they set up, where they look. All of that has to do with where they might shoot, but you also have very smart players who change. They’ll change everything and then hit it high and it is unreachable. But I study a lot in how they look at the ball, if they are capable of looking me in the eyes, how they stand, what angle they take as they strike the ball. It has to do a lot with that,” said Moreno.

Needless to say, it has been a very busy 24-48 hours for Moreno since his heroics. Outlets from far and wide have spoken to him about his performance, and instead of maybe shying away from the attention, Moreno is relishing the moment.

“I’m from a small area in Guatemala, I’m not from the capital, and the boy that was born and grew up in that small area could never imagine what I’m going through now. I’m only just 17. I never imagined I would get to this kind of moment. I never imagined it, nor my family, so I’m just trying to enjoy this moment, enjoy these kinds of things that are happening in my life because I know it’s very difficult to experience it twice,” said Moreno.

It may be just the second U20 World Cup for Guatemala, but they will be traveling to Indonesia with the mindset of accomplishing more special things.

“The first step that we had in mind we have achieved, which was to get the World Cup ticket. Now we have to work a lot for the rest of the year and early next year to go in with a good rhythm to be the Guatemala warriors that we were against Mexico. We have to work hard individually and collectively to have a good performance in the World Cup,” said Moreno.

Then there is of course the possibility of qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics, which would happen with a win versus the Dominican Republic in Friday’s semifinal.

“It would be a plus to what we have already achieved without a doubt. We came in with the objective of getting the World Cup ticket, so now getting that Olympic ticket and being able to play the Final of this tournament would be very important for us, because nobody has done it before,” said Moreno.

But perhaps most importantly is what Moreno and his teammates have done for the football fans in Guatemala and that it took a very special team to bring this kind of happiness to their football-crazed countrymen.

“I think joyful moments like these have been missing from Guatemala. Joyful moments like last night have been missing for years. It was last 11 years ago and a lot of time has passed, and so this is something good for the country. We want to show the rest of the world who is Guatemala and show that Guatemala has talent.

“But [Wednesday] night with the joy, the tears, it’s unexplainable because I never could have imagined being here today and much less having what happened to me last night. That’s why this team is special, that we have done it together,” concluded Moreno.