'Traducción del texto'
' '
'History'
'Beginnings and first attempt in the elimination stage of the World Cup'
Guatemala created its first soccer team, made up of 22 players, on August 23rd, 1902. The team was split into two sides, blue and white. With time, clubs were made and eventually the Guatemalan National Team was created in 1921. Guatemala had its first game on September 14th, 1921 against Honduras. The game was played in Guatemala City and Guatemala beat Honduras 10 to 1.
Guatemala had success in several editions of the CCCF Championship (Copa CCCF), precursor to the Concacaf Gold Cup (Copa Concacaf), by being the runner up in three championships, 1943, 1946, and 1948. In 1958, Guatemala began participating in the qualifying rounds of the World Cup. It was placed in the first group, along with the teams from Costa Rica and the Netherlands Antilles. It placed last and was unable to score a single point.
'Success in the 60’s'
Guatemala’s performance in the qualifying rounds began to improve in the beginning of the 1960’s. In 1962 it was able to tie against both Costa Rica (4-4), while playing in Guatemala, and Honduras (1-1), while playing in Tegucigalpa. However, after being placed in the second group, it once again finished last.
Guatemala did not participate in the qualifying round in 1966. Before the process of elimination began, the FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) refused Guatemala’s participation for administrative reasons.
The Guatemalan National Team joined Concacaf in 1961. In 1967 it again showed the progress it had made when it participated in the Concacaf Gold Cup. For the first time and only time in its history, it placed first in the tournament. It was also the runner up in both 1965 and 1969.