Guatemala went to Trinidad and Tobago looking to turn their third round in the right direction after an opening home loss. The match was a defensive struggle with neither team about to score until the climactic final ten minutes. Trinidad and Tobago struck first with a goal six minutes from time and the home crowd figured the Trinidadians were home free. A Guatemalan goal in the final minute, however, meant that the teams would share the glory. Trinidad and Tobago have four points in Group A, whereas Guatemala have one.México picked up a surprise home game against Jamaica after Hurricane Gustav forced FIFA to swap the home dates between the two countries. Jamaica may have been safer back home considering the storm the Mexicans unleashed upon them in México City. Jamaica played physically, drawing three of the five cautions, but the Mexicans dominated the scoreboard from the second minute onwards. The incredibly early strike served notice that México would be on their game the entire way, unlike their previous match against Honduras. Additional goals midway through each half gave México the 3-0 victory and the lead in Group B with six points.
"This game is crucial to us as we hunt a place in the final group stage. With the win over Guatemala we are in good shape and need to keep going." -Bob Bradley, coach of United States of America
The Americans were visiting Cuba for the first time in over sixty-one years, but the significance of the game at hand was not lost on the visitors. With few fans daring enough to go against the travel embargo of the American government, the Cubans had the full support of the crowd in Havana. It appeared for a while that there would be an embargo on goals, but an opportunistic strike five minutes from the halftime whistle sent United States of America to the locker room with a 1-0. The sensational goalkeeping of Tim Howard provided all the Americans needed to eke out the 1-0 victory and the lead in Group A with six points.
"Two wins on the road for us, it doesn't get any better than that." -Carlos Bocanegra United States of America captain and defender
"I think Honduras will be one of our toughest opponents, maybe tougher than México. They are peaking at the right time, coming on really strong in the last year. They have some really quick players." -Paul Stalteri, captain of Canada
Honduras went into Canada looking to finish what they had started against México: a road victory. Canada quickly erased the painful memory of the botched home draw to Jamaica with a goal in the opening five minutes. The Canadians held that same lead at the half, but the Hondurans proved that lightning can strike twice by knocking home two quick blows within the first quarter hour after the break. Patrice Bernier was ejected for the Canadians after grabbing yellow cards in consecutive minutes, ending with the seventy-third minute. Canada failed to grab more than one point in its opening two matches in Canada, so they appear to have little chance to advance to Round Four. Honduras now have three points and second place in the Group B hunt.
Haiti visited El Salvador and quickly realized that their opening clash with Suriname was the matchup of the two weak teams in Group C. Piere Bruny did not help the Haitian cause with his fourteenth-minute red card. El Salvador took advantage for two goals in the first half and three in the second for a dominating 5-0 victory.
Suriname visited Costa Rica and quickly learned the same lesson as Haiti. Costa Rica pushed two goals across the line in the first half, but the stoppage-time ejection of Suriname's Rinaldo Lupson allowed the Costa Ricans to destroy their visitors in the ensuing forty-five minutes. Five more goals came and the Surinamese were washed away 7-0. Costa Rica and their six points own the lead in Group C.
Goal scorers:
Trinidad and Tobago: Daniel 84
Guatemala: Santizo 90
México: Guardado 2; Arce 32; Magallón 63
United States of America: Dempsey 40
Honduras: Nuñez 47, 56
Canada: Serioux 4
El Salvador: Zelaya 7, 24, 53; Larios 58; W. Torres 79
Costa Rica: Ledezma 9, 41; Alpizar 47; Alonso 78; Borges 79; Solis 86; Ruiz 88
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