Honduras and Guatemala Shock Giants in Penalty-Soaked CONCACAF Gold Cup 2025 Quarterfinals
Underdogs Honduras and Guatemala stun Panama and Canada in back-to-back shootout wins as the Gold Cup semifinals take unpredictable shape

Minneapolis, June 30: On a night where legends faltered and dreams detonated under stadium floodlights, Honduras and Guatemala carved their names into the semifinals of the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup — not with style, but with steel. It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t smooth. But God, it was football.
Honduras Survives the Fire, Sends Panama Packing
This wasn’t a match. It was a siege. For 120 minutes, Honduras and Panama clawed and scraped through a war of attrition, their bodies betraying them long before the whistle dared to. Then came penalties — football’s cruelest lottery — and it was Carlos Pineda, not chance, who chose fate.
After a 1–1 gridlock where goals came rare and nerves came early, Honduras stood taller in the shootout. Four perfect kicks. Then Panama blinked — Michael Amir Murillo’s shot clipped the post with the kind of hollow thud that echoes into a nation’s chest. Pineda, ice in his veins, stepped up, and thumped it home like it was personal.
Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara. July 2. Honduras vs Mexico. That’s the prize. And if this squad has anything left in the tank, they’ll need it all. Because history doesn’t do them favors — the last time they faced El Tri in a Gold Cup, they left humiliated. Now they’re back, older, maybe wiser, definitely hungrier.
Canada Crumbles As Guatemala Rises From the Ashes
This one? This was a gut-punch in slow motion.
Canada, riding high on expectations and world rankings, met Guatemala — not with urgency, but with entitlement. And they paid the price. After 90 long minutes and another 30 of pure exhaustion, it was Jose Morales who walked away the hero, slotting in the seventh and final penalty like it was just another Tuesday.
It wasn’t.
Earlier, Cyle Larin had given Canada the lead — a poacher’s finish that felt inevitable. But Guatemala didn’t wilt. They regrouped. Fought. And then, Oscar Castellanos curled in a goal so beautiful you could almost hear the continent gasp.
The shootout was theatre. Misses, makes, hands on heads, prayers muttered into sleeves. And then Alphonso Davies, the face of Canadian football, stepped up — and fluffed it. His tame effort was smothered, and seconds later Morales buried his. Canada were out. Guatemala? Ecstatic, disbelieving, marching on.
They now await the winner of USA vs Costa Rica, a matchup that suddenly carries heavier consequence than ever.
USA vs Costa Rica: The Heavyweights Can’t Breathe Easy
Minneapolis will be loud tonight. The USMNT, unbeaten through the group stage and unscathed in the press room, will finally meet a team that doesn’t flinch. Costa Rica has history, grit, and old scars. And in tournaments like this, those count.
The Americans have looked sharp, yes. Their midfield—McKennie and Musah—has rhythm. Balogun is learning how to be a menace. But Gold Cups aren’t won in theory. They’re won in nights like these, against ghosts like Joel Campbell, with legends like Keylor Navas between the sticks.
The pressure’s on the U.S., and Costa Rica knows it. They’ll sit deep, bite ankles, and wait for one mistake. And if they find it? Guatemala’s waiting, with nothing to lose and everything to prove.
The Semifinals Are Set — And They’re Glorious Chaos
Forget your brackets. Forget what FIFA rankings told you. This Gold Cup is burning the script.
- Honduras vs Mexico — July 2, Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara
- USA or Costa Rica vs Guatemala — July 2, Energi Park, St. Louis
If you had this quartet penciled in back in June, you’re either a liar or a prophet. But that’s the tournament. It doesn’t care what you thought was supposed to happen. It only knows what did.
The final four is equal parts pedigree and poetry. Mexico, the perennial power. Honduras, bloodied but alive. USA, maybe the best team on paper. And Guatemala, the miracle that refused to go home.
And if the quarterfinals taught us anything, it’s this: don’t blink. This Gold Cup’s not done dancing yet.
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Anand Yadav is a Reporting Fellow at Hindustan Herald, with a daily focus on delivering engaging sports news and analysis. Currently studying at Lucknow University, Anand is passionate about sports journalism and committed to providing well-researched insights into game dynamics, player performances, and the broader impact of sports. He consistently strives to keep our audience informed and entertained with his coverage.