South Africa and Guatemala played to a 1-1 tie in one of the final first-round games of Gold Cup play at Reliant Stadium on Wednesday night. Mexico played Jamaica in the late match.
South Africa, playing its second straight tie after a 3-3 stalemate against Jamaica on Sunday, finished first-round play with a 1-0-2 record. Guatemala ended the first round with an 0-2-1 record.
Coming off a 4-0 loss to Mexico on Sunday, Guatemala took a 1-0 lead in the 37th minute when Carlos Figueroa passed from the corner to Carlos Ruiz in the middle of the field. Ruiz chipped it to Gonzalo Romero, who popped in the goal from 15 yards out.
South Africa tied it in the 45th minute when Solace Nkosi took a pass from Siyabonga Nomvete and kicked it in from 20 yards out to take a 1-1 tie into halftime.
Ruiz, who plays for Dallas of the MLS, finished tied for leading scorer of the first round of Gold Cup play with three goals and an assist in the three games. Landon Donovan of the United States and Luis Tejada of Panama also had three goals in the opening round of matches. – Sapa-AP