The mercurial and unpredictable CONCACAF strikes again.

Despite owning a considerable edge in possession throughout, the U.S. U20 team opened its road to the World Cup later this year with a meek 1-1 draw against Guatemala at the CONCACAF Championships on Friday in Jamaica. Despite a dearth of opportunity, the U.S. largely failed to create chances and invited the ostensible moment of the match with just minutes left.

With the U.S. leading 1-0 through a second-half Cameron Carter-Vickers header, a deflected Guatemala corner kick fell to FC Dallas academy member Andy Ruiz with extra time knocking. Ruiz unloaded a world class one-time volley that crested the height of the crossbar before bending back in past keeper Zack Steffen. The shot was well-taken enough that it would’ve been hard to press the blame on the American defense, but the U.S.’s profligacy with its chances until then opened the door for CONCACAF magic.

“I think we dominated for the majority of the match,” Carter-Vickers said after the game. “I think we played well, I think we defended well. I was perfectly happy with my goal. It’s disappointing not to get a win, but if we play as well as we did in this match, I think we’ll get the points and go through.”

It was a shaky start to a CONCACAF qualification campaign the U.S. would’ve expected to go more smoothly already. The Americans have four group games left, and they still have a chance to top the group and earn automatic World Cup qualification. Finishing in the top three will assure their place in a four-team playoff.

Three and a half thoughts from the match.

— The U.S.’s central midfield was rudderless until Fulham midfielder Emerson Hyndman replaced Junior Flores at halftime. For much of the first half, defensive midfielder Kellyn Acosta’s distribution was stunted by too much space between his area of operation and the rest of the midfield. Flores was too concerned with pressing, leaving long, tunnel-like passing lanes that rarely yielded tidy possession. That also put too much stress on center backs Carter-Vickers and Matt Miazga to find holes, which they clearly weren’t comfortable doing.

Ramos’ decision to start Paul Arriola on the right side of the midfield didn’t do much to benefit the build-up either. Arriola was too quick to yank the trigger on risky through balls and chances over the top, and his deployment pulled him acres away from positions in which he’s most dangerous. And while Romain Gall operated at a breakneck pace at times on the left, he wasn’t the cleanest on the ball.

Hyndman’s introduction changed everything. He was decidedly more comfortable dropping in to collect from Acosta and sparking the attack, and his distribution calmed everyone down. In fact, the U.S.’s best build-up came just three minutes into the second half when Hyndman danced around two defenders around half-field and fueled a scoring chance. Going forward, it’s hard to imagine coach Tab Ramos leaving Hyndman off the starting team sheet again. He’s not just vital to the Americans’ chances at this tournament. He may be the best player in the entire event.

— Harping on set pieces is an American soccer rite of passage, and this U20 team got its baptism on Friday. Until Hyndman’s introduction, Paul Arriola was over the ball for all of the U.S.’s dead ball situations, and to put it mildly, none of them went particularly well. More often than not, Arriola too easily duffed his chances into the keeper’s waiting hands. And so when Hyndman stepped over his first crack at a corner about 12 minutes into the second half, a refreshing wind blew through the stadium. He sliced his corner beautifully, and Carter-Vickers only had to use his considerable heft to out-muscle the defender and direct it into the opposite corner.

The U.S. experience at big tournaments its so reliant on set pieces at every age level (ahem, Ghana in 2014) that to essentially concede all of them for an entire half to shoddy execution is nigh unacceptable. Tournament openers are generally grand learning experiences in myriad ways, and you’ll no doubt see Arriola’s duties in that role come to an end. It just would’ve been nice to know that sooner.

— You may see Carter-Vickers pick up a few Man of the Match plaudits for his solid play at the back and his point-winning goal, but mine goes to San Jose Earthquakes attacker Tommy Thompson. The whirling dervish was a terror for the duration, diving into small spaces left open by Guatemala’s buttoned-up back line and exploiting them. There isn’t a player on this roster more comfortable with the ball at his feet than Thompson, and it showed on Friday.

Thompson’s deployment was doubly interesting. Ramos arrayed him on the right in a 4-3-3 setup, which gave him room for his stabbing runs. His success in this role should give you an indication as to how misused he was by former San Jose coach Mark Watson at the club level in 2014. Thompson thrives on space, and by making him a second striker underneath Chris Wondolowski, who is anything but a target striker, Thompson was too often left on islands. Ramos is proving to new Quakes coach Dom Kinnear that that doesn’t have to be the case.

— Finally, keep an eye on the playing field over the course of this tournament. It already showed severe signs of wear 10 minutes into the U.S.-Guatemala game, and we’re in the tourney’s first day. Friday’s result proved that CONCACAF is as unpredictable as ever. Add a bumpy and uneven pitch to the mix - especially around the penalty area - and you’ve got the recipe for some strange hops in dangerous positions in critical matches. Hopefully that doesn’t come to pass.