Derby County’s Nathaniel Mendez-Laing made his second international appearance for Guatemala in the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Guatemala registered a 0-0 draw with joint-hosts Canada in Houston, with the Rams’ wideman getting the full 90 minutes under his belt, to leave them second in Group D with one match left to play.
After being named in their squad for the Gold Cup, Mendez-Laing claimed his first international cap in Guatemala’s Group D opener against Cuba in Fort Lauderdale last week and he set up the only goal of the game in a 1-0 victory.
Next up for Guatemala and Mendez-Laing is their final group game against Guadeloupe in New Jersey on 4th July. A win will secure a place in the knock-out stages, while a draw could be enough although they would need to rely on Canada not defeating Cuba.
Should Guatemala progress to the knock-out stages, the Quarter Finals will take place on 8th/9th July, followed by the Semi-Finals on 12th July and the Final on 16th July.
Mendez-Laing, who made 51 appearances for Derby in the 2022/23 season and scored eight times, will miss the start of pre-season training ahead of the 2023/24 campaign with Paul Warne’s squad but he will join up with the Rams’ squad once his international commitments have concluded.
The 31-year-old forward qualifies to play for Guatemala through his grandmother and also his mother, who were both born in the Central American country, and he recently secured the relevant documentation to represent them at international level.
