EFE

Lungisani Ndlela

Gonzalo Antonio Romero put Guatemala on the board first in the 37th minute when he knocked home Carlos Ruiz's pass into the box.

South Africa tied the match just before time expired on Bongani Nkosi's 45th minute finisher of Siyabonga Nomvete's tough shot that Guatemalan keeper Paulo Cesar Motta could not handle.

With a berth in the quarterfinals already assured, South Africa did not take any risks. The team's opponent in the next round will be determined by the outcome of the final Group C match between Mexico and Jamaica.

Guatemala, which lost 3-4 to Jamaica and 0-4 to Mexico in its previous two matches, was trying to avoid exiting the tournament without having tallied any points. The team, led by coach Ramon Maradiaga, played like it had nothing to lose and took more risks than South Africa.

Carlos Figueroa and Gonzalo Romero had the best opportunities to lead the Central Americans to a win but their shots on goal were less than accurate.

Nevertheless the team did not leave the CONCACAF tourney empty handed and gave the sizeable contingent of Guatemalan fans in attendance some sense of pride.

At stake for South Africa was its destination in the next round, where the Group C winner will face Colombia and the second-place team will take on Panama. The third-place team will travel to Foxboro to take on Group B winner United States.

Heading into Wednesday's match Jamaica led the group with four points, with South Africa trailing only in goal differential. Defending champs Mexico are currently in third with three points.

Honduras and Panama advanced from Group A and will join fellow Central Americans Costa Rica in the round of eight.

The quarterfinals will take place in Foxboro and Houston on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, while the semifinals and finals will be played at New Jersey's Giants Stadium on Thursday and Sunday.

Miller Lite Man of the Match: Solace Nkosi (South Africa)

Lineups:

1. Guatemala: Paulo Cesar Motta; Pablo Sebastian Melgar, Gustavo Cabrera (Nelson Noel Morales, 73rd min.), Rigoberto Gomez, Angel Sanabria; Elmer Ponciano, J.Giron, Gonzalo Romero (Jose Zacarias, 63rd min.), Maynor Davila; Carlos Figueroa and Carlos Ruiz.

1. South Africa: Calvin Marlin; Lucky Lekgwathi, Craig Bianchi, Ricardo Katza, Peter Peterson; Siyabonga Siphika, Abram Raselemane (Stanley Kgatle, 66th min.); Bongami Nkosi, Siyabango, Lungisani Ndlela; Siyabango Nomvete (Gift Leremi, 81st min.) and Elrio Van Heerden (Reagan Noble, 81st min.).