Jozy Altidore scored the lone goal in a 1-0 victory over Guadeloupe on Tuesday as the United States seized the last quarter-final berth on offer in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The United States advance as the runners-up in Group C behind Panama, who sealed their group win with a 1-1 draw over Canada.
That result also insured that Group A’s El Salvador would advance as one of the top two third-placed teams.
The Americans, whose shock loss to Panama had put them in a precarious position, gained some breathing room when Altidore buried a driving shot from 25 meters in the ninth minute.
The defeat was the third in a row for Guadeloupe, surprising semi-finalists four years ago. Earlier at Sporting Park, Luis Tejada scored in a goalmouth scramble in the first minute of injury time to give Panama their 1-1 draw.After Anibal Godoy’s attempt was blocked, Canadian keeper Milan Borjan couldn’t get the ball cleared from in front of the goal and Tejada was able to nudge it across the line. Canada’s Dwayne De Rosario had converted his second penalty in as many games in the 62nd minute to give Canada the lead.
