Goalkeeper Phil Marfuggi made 11 saves and Freddy Adu had a goal and an assist to lead the U.S. Under- 17 national team to a 3-0 victory over host Guatemala on Sunday. The win qualified the United States for its record 10th-straight appearance in the FIFA World Championship, which will be held Aug. 13-30 in Finland.
John DiRaimondo opened the scoring in the 43rd minute, taking a pass from forward Eddie Gaven and putting a low, 14-yard shot past Guatemala goalkeeper Ricardo Jerez.
For the first 25 minutes of the second half, Guatemala threatened, but Marfuggi kept them off the board. His best stop came in the 50th minute after a shot deflected off defender Jonathan SpectorÆs back, forcing a reflex save. He also made three saves in succession with the score 1-0.
Gaven again acted as playmaker in the 72nd minute when he put Adu through in the penalty area and the 13-year-old prodigy extended the U.S. lead. Adu set up Jamie Watson in the 89th minute to cap the victory.
The brackets for the 16-team championship will be determined in May. So far Korea Republic, Yemen, China PR and the United States will join host Finland in the tournament. Three teams will come from Africa, two more will come from CONCACAF, another three will compete from South America, two qualify from Europe and Oceania will provide the final nation.
Mexico, Canada, Cuba and Costa Rica (Group B) will compete for CONCACAFÆs second representative in Finland at a qualifying tournament March 26-30 in Canada. The runner-up in Group B will play Jamaica, which finished second in Group A by tying El Salvador on a last-minute goal Sunday, in a home-and-home playoff for the last CONCACAF slot.