Sean Johnson was an avatar for all of us late Tuesday night, stunned and helpless as a long-range blast from veteran midfielder José Contreras whizzed by him.
The 88th-minute golazo lifted Guatemala’s Comunicaciones, the de facto Central American champions, into a stunning, 5–5 aggregate tie with the MLS Cup holders. Visiting New York City FC had yielded three goals in under 20 minutes and was hanging on for dear life thanks to the away goals tiebreaker.
Comunicaciones is a traditional domestic power but hardly a regional heavyweight. Its run to the last eight of the Concacaf Champions League, which included a penalty shootout defeat of the Colorado Rapids, was a surprise. The vast majority of its roster is from Guatemala, whose national team is ranked 123rd in the world. The country hadn’t produced a CCL quarterfinalist in nine years.
