Shortly before the United States took the field against Guatemala at the Estadio Mateo Flores, ESPN's Jeff Carlisle passed along a message that set the tone for the proceeding few hours: John Brooks was injured and out for the two games against Guatemala.
At some point in the USMNT's rigorous training in the lead up to the match, Brooks suffered a knee contusion that is so bad that US Soccer decided to send him back to Berlin instead of risking him in either match against the Guatemalans. Losing arguably your best centerback before a big match is one thing.