by Jamie Trecker

Updated: August 22, 2008, 6:18 AM EST 88 comments

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Late Wednesday night in steamy Guatemala City, the USA collected its their first ever-win in the country, battling to a 1-0 win thanks to a header from Carlos Bocanegra in a World Cup qualifier against the hosts that was as gritty as it was ugly.

Two ejections, several cheap blows and a messy surface conspired to make the match as unattractive as possible. But you don't get points for art, you get them for wins, and by taking all three on the road, the USA have rocketed out of the blocks to seize control of their destiny in this World Cup qualifying semifinal round.

Thursday morning (stateside), the American women pulled off something equally spectacular, playing a smart, focused game against longtime rivals Brazil to successfully defend their Olympic gold medal and restore luster to a badly shaken program.

By toppling their closest rivals — and the team that coldly dispatched them last year in the World Cup semifinals — the American women showed that they could win without their talismanic striker, Abby Wambach. Moreover, in what has to be a personally sweet moment, Hope Solo proved she was right and ex-coach Greg Ryan was wrong: She said would have saved those shots last year, and today she did.

Taken together, this is arguably the best day in recent American soccer history.

Let's take the Olympians first. These women were playing not just for their second straight gold medal, but their professional futures as well. Their new pro league, fighting to escape from the shadows of WUSA's epic collapse in 2003, needed a bit of glitz. But after the American women lost badly in their opener to Norway, both the team and the league seemed to be thwarted.

The good teams make their own luck, of course, and the USA got plenty of nice bounces as the Games wore on. They were gifted with a first-place finish in their group on the final day when Norway did a flame-out of its own against Japan, allowing the USA two cushy knockout games before having to face Brazil. If we're also honest, there were only two other teams that truly measured up to the Americans, which is more a reflection of the sport's weakness than the Americans' strength.

But it would be churlish (and unfair) to dwell on that point after a riveting final that contained all the frisson one would find in any top-level men's game. Brazil threw everything they had at the Americans, and Solo kept everything out. It may have only been one game, but for 120 minutes both teams showed that they could bring the same fire that their brothers do.

Coach Pia Sundhage deserves a lot of the credit, for she not only camouflaged Wambach's absence, but arguably showed that the bullish striker should be fitted more neatly into a team that can play smart possession ball. And today, the USA looked very much a team in stark contrast to a Brazil whose individuals oftentimes tried to do far too much and ended up doing nothing.

As it happens, I was talking to Tonya Antonucci after the game, and so I asked her what this meant for her league. Despite her obvious glee at the win from a fan's perspective, she was remarkably blunt: "It gives us some momentum, sure. But I think a one-time win also shows up all the challenges we face as a league. We can't match the World Cup or the Olympics ... but what we can do is manage expectations, be conservative and get the message out that our new league will be a platform for the world's best players."

The men are runaway favorites in this region, and that's both good and bad. It's good in the sense that both the USA and Mexico don't have to really sweat out that trip to South Africa. It's bad because both teams have plateaued.

Last night at the Azteca, Mexico struggled to fend off a determined Honduras in the toughest qualifying group in the region. The USA, on the other hand, broke some small new ground by winning in a country they have effectively dominated for twenty years. You read that right: the USA haven't lost to Los Chapines in two decades, but they'd never been able to come away with more than a draw down there.

One could argue that this reflected more poorly on Guatemala, who used pranks like staging the games in the wilds of Mazatenango in their efforts to claw out some edge, but it was a hurdle and until last night, the USA had never cleared it.

No one expects beauty on an under-lit, rain-soaked mash of a field, and both teams delivered to expectation. This will not be remembered as a classic high point. But it was nice to see Clint Dempsey looking fresh for a half and even nicer to see the USA finally smack one in after being kicked for an hour straight.

Are there problems? Yep. The U.S. defense was exposed once again, with Steve Cherundolo and Bocanegra both caught out, and the Americans were probably too content to hang back in the early going and allow Guatemala to collect and settle.

For their troubles, the Americans got beat up. Tim Howard took a cleat in the head while Eddie Lewis was coldcocked.

"I don't even remember it," said Lewis afterwards, but he took five stitches, so he'll have a memento.

Cherundolo was so out of sorts that he had to foul Freddy Garcia at the hour mark and so got his marching orders. It didn't have much bearing on the game as Gustavo Cabrera was tossed only six minutes later. But after Lewis had to come out, Bradley's double-switch put the fleet DaMarcus Beasley on, and it was his corner kick that led to the winner.

With Trinidiad and Tobago waxing Cuba as well, the group is now the USA's to control and, remember, the top two advance to next year's hexagonal. Not a bad spot to be in after only one game.

Good as all this is, though, Antonucci's realism probably strikes the right balance. Growing soccer is still day-to-day in the United States and the hard work has to be done over and over again. Just as WUSA overrated the appeal of its players and products, too many backers of the U.S. men are too quick to see the end of the tunnel rather than concentrate on the long march ahead.

But winning is sure worth celebrating. And these two were big wins, indeed.

Jamie Trecker's newest book, "Love and Blood: At the World Cup with the Footballers, Fans and Freaks" is out now from Harcourt. Jamie is assisted by Jerry and Janice Trecker. Contact Jamie at jamie.trecker@gmail.com and visit his blog and website at www.jamietrecker.com.

The views and opinions expressed by Jamie Trecker do not necessarily reflect those of the Fox Soccer Channel or FoxSoccer.com.