Fifa Brazil World Cup 2014: North, Central America and Caribbean Qualifying
Tuesday, 16th October 2012 at 07:16am
Match day five of the third round of the North, Central America and Caribbean qualifying region saw all the main contenders for progression to the next phase of Brazil 2014 in action.
Group A
On match day 5, Guatemala and the USA took positive steps towards the final round of qualifiers with wins over Jamaica and Antigua & Barbuda respectively.
Carlos Figueroa gave the hosts a 1-0 half time lead only for the Reggae Boyz to grab an equalizer through a Luton Shelton penalty after 61 minutes.
With nine minutes remaining, Carlos Ruiz netted the winner to send Guatemala top with 10 points.
The USA trail them only on goal difference but they were indebted to Eddie Johnson who scored twice on his return to the side.
Johnson opened the scoring in the 20th minute but Nottingham Forest's Dexter Blackstock leveled the match five minutes later.
It appeared destined for a draw but Johnson pounced in stoppage time to hand the USA the win.
Group B
Mexico's seemingly inevitable passage towards Brazil continued unchecked as they made it five wins from five in Group B.
The Mexicans trounced Guyana on their travels, putting five past the hosts with no reply but it wasn't as comfortable as the score line suggested.
The visitors had to wait until the 77th minute before breaking the deadlock through Andres Guardado before the floodgates opened with four goals in the last 11 minutes including one from Manchester United's Javier Hernandez.
Mexico are likely to be joined in round four of qualifying by Costa Rica, whose 1-0 win over El Salvador put them in second place with one game remaining.
Group C
In Group C, Panama and Canada are level at the top with 10 points and one fixture remaining.
Canada put three goals past Cuba in Toronto with Tosaint Ricketts opening the scoring before two goals after the break from Will Johnson and David Edgar sealed the win.
Panama could have confirmed their passage into round four had they triumphed over Honduras but could only manage a draw.
Honduras can still qualify for round four with a win in their final match.
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