Isaiah Jones’ incredible hat-trick helped Guyana defeat Guatemala 3-2 in Friday night’s Concacaf Gold Cup Prelim in Barbados.
In their “home” match at the Barbados Technical Centre, the Guyanese maintained composure to achieve an unforgettable victory.
Guyana comes in at number 19 in Concacaf, while Guatemala comes in at number 9.
In the ninth minute, Jones gave Guatemala the lead, but in the 29th, Jose Martinez tied the score.
After that, Jones scored in the 36th minute to put Guyana up at halftime.
Jones gave Guatemala the lead in the ninth minute, but Jose Martinez tied the score in the 29th.
Jones then scored in the 36th minute to give Guyana the lead by the half.
When play resumed, Jones’ hat-trick in the 56th minute made it 3-1 Guyana.
In the 80th minute, J. Pinto’s penalty kick cut the Guatemalan team’s loss margin.
Given that Guatemala has only missed six Gold Cups since 1963, their impressive record underscores the difficulty Guyana faced.
After making it to the main draw in 2019, the Golden Jaguars have had difficulty moving past the preliminary stages ever since.
The 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup group stage will be reached by the aggregate winner.
Recent encounters between the two sides have favoured Guatemala, with victories of 3-1 in the Nations League and 4-0 in the 2021 Gold Cup preliminaries.
The two nations meet again on Tuesday (March 25), this time in Guatemala, from 20:30h.
The aggregate winner will advance to the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup group stage.
