Guatemala Comeback and Eliminates DR in 2026 World Cup Qualifiers

Dominican Republic Says Goodbye to World Cup Dream After Losing to Guatemala

The Dominican Republic’s senior national soccer team saw its hopes of qualifying for its first World Cup vanish this Friday, after a 4-2 defeat against Guatemala in the second matchday of Group E of the Concacaf qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.

The Caribbean team, which went into halftime with a 2-1 lead, couldn’t maintain the pace against the Guatemalan offense in the second half. The home team scored three goals in a ten-minute span, sealing the victory at the Cementos Progreso Stadium.

Guatemala opened the scoring with a goal by Óscar Santis at minute 6. Dominican Republic responded with goals from Dorny Romero (16′) and Heinz Mörschel (35′), but the second half was dominated by the home team. Nicolás Samayoa (52′) and two more goals from Santis (59′ and 62′) sealed the match.

The start of the match was delayed by half an hour due to an incident with the Dominican team’s bus and the weather conditions.

With this defeat, the Dominican Republic national football team (Sedofútbol) has three points in the group, surpassed by Guatemala (9 pts) and Jamaica (6 pts), complicating their chances of advancing to the next phase. The Dominicans’ next match will be on Tuesday against Dominica, at the Félix Sánchez Stadium in Santo Domingo.

Starting Lineups

Dominican Republic: Miguel Lloyd, Luiyi De Lucas, Noah Dollenmayer, Juan Familia-Castillo, Edgar Pujol, Pablo Rosario, Jean Carlos López, Heinz Mörschel, Ronaldo Vásquez, Peter González, and Dorny Romero. Coach: Edward “La Beba” Acevedo.

Guatemala: Nicholas Hagen, Áaron Herrera, Nicolás Samayoa, José Pinto, José Morales, Jonathan Franco, José Rosales, Óscar Santis, Pedro Altán, Rudy Muñiz, and Rubio Rubín.