Marco Pappa has flashed some brilliance since joining the Seattle Sounders this offseason. But as good as he's been at times for the Sounders is not even close to how he's playing for Guatemala in the Copa CentroAmericana.
Serving as his team's primary playmaker, Pappa scored two more goals in a 2-0 win over Honduras on Wednesday. That gives him four goals in the tournament while Guatemala won their group with a 3-0-0 record and advanced straight to the championship game on Saturday against Costa Rica. Guatemala has already qualified for the 2015 Gold Cup, but winning the tournament would guarantee them a spot in the 2016 Copa America Centenario.
Pappa is the biggest reason they are there. After scoring two goals in Guatemala's opener, Pappa put in two more spectacular strikes against one of the tournament favorites Honduras. His first was a blast from about 25 yards out that struck the underside of the crossbar and crossed the goal line. He followed that up with a second-half clincher from just outside the penalty area that he curled inside the far post. He also came inches away from a third, but that shot rung off the inside of the post but stayed out.