Remember the qualifying campaign for the 2002 World Cup? It seems so long ago.
David Beckham’s last-gasp free-kick against Greece. 10-man Ireland’s heroic win over the Netherlands. China, Ecuador, Senegal and Slovenia reaching the tournament for the first time.
Carlos Ruiz remembers it well, having top-scored for Guatemala with eight goals as his country narrowly missed out on the final round of qualification.
And the 35-year-old scored again in the 2018 World Cup qualifier against Antigua & Barbuda, helping his country progress and entering history as the first player in the CONCACAF region (for North and Central American and Caribbean countries) to score in five successive qualfiying campaigns.
https://twitter.com/Publinews_GT/status/641458874797551618
In the 2006 campaign, when England lost 1-0 in Northern Ireland to a David Healy goal, Ruiz scored twice in a 5-1 demolition of England’s eventual group stage opponents Trinidad and Tobago.
Four years later, his four goal haul against Saint Lucia matched Peter Crouch’s total in the entire qualifying campaign.
And in the lead-up to the last World Cup, with England edging out Ukraine in Europe, Ruiz’s goals were responsible for each of Guatemala’s three wins as they ran the United States and Jamaica ever so close.
The former LA Galaxy striker now has a remarkable 31 goals in 39 World Cup qualifying appearances…and counting.
