Guatemala could not and fell 0-3 against Costa Rica this Saturday, April 18 at the National Stadium of San José in the decisive match of Group C of the Concacaf W qualifying round, being eliminated from the competition and without the possibility of advancing to the W Championship where the tickets to the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil will be defined. The Chapinas needed to win to take the lead from the Ticos, but the result was the opposite and Costa Rica advanced as the undisputed leader of the group with four victories in four games.
The Costa Ricans showed their superiority from early on. At minute 13, Gloriana Villalobos opened the scoring, taking advantage of the spaces left by the Guatemalan defense to make it 1-0, which complicated the plans of the team led by Karla Maya from very early in the match.
Guatemala tried to react and generated its best moments in the second half, when Aisha Solórzano overflowed on the right wing and crossed into the area where Ana Lucía Martínez connected with a header but the Costa Rican goalkeeper responded with a great save. In the 55th minute, Andrea Álvarez shot hard from outside the area looking for the discount but could not beat the rival goalkeeper in what was the Guatemalans’ clearest chance in the match.
Costa Rica did not forgive. In the 63rd minute Sheika Scott scored the second for the locals and definitively closed Guatemala’s chances of coming back, while in the 87th minute Priscila Chinchilla, a figure of the tournament with 11 goals in the qualifying phase and forward for Atlético de Madrid, sealed the final 3-0 to round off a strong performance by the Ticos in their own stadium.
Goodbye to the world cup
Guatemala did not have a bad participation in this tie. The Chapinas won their first three games with authority, beating Bermuda 4-1, Granada 6-0 and the Cayman Islands 13-0, demonstrating an offensive forcefulness that had not been seen before in Guatemalan women’s soccer. However, the difference with Costa Rica was evident in the most important moment, where the Ticos showed greater experience and solidity in the 90 minutes.
The team came to this match with the best generation of players in its history, with 13 players from those called up who play abroad such as Ana Lucía Martínez in Cruz Azul, Aisha Solórzano in Juárez FC of the Liga MX and Andrea Álvarez in Sevilla of the Spanish League. Despite this, it was not enough to overcome the great obstacle that Costa Rica represented.
In the Concacaf W Championship, Mexico, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Haiti, Panama, El Salvador, the United States and Canada will compete in a competition that will grant four tickets to the 2027 World Cup in Brazil and three places to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Guatemala is once again left without the opportunity to play a qualifying tournament for the Women’s World Cup, but the path taken in this tie leaves positive signs for the process of Guatemalan women’s football. With young players who already compete in leagues abroad and a generation that continues to grow.