BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Barbados’ international friendly against Guyana on Sunday here is being used as a gauge by the Barbados Football Association, ahead of crucial upcoming assignments for the national team.
Randy Harris.
FA president Randy Harris said with the 2018 World Cup qualifiers and the 2016 Olympic Qualifiers scheduled to start soon, the international friendly would be an excellent way for new Brazilian Technical Director Marcos Falopa, to assess the squad’s standard.
“We decided to have a friendly to give our team, which had started training late last year, a practice game,” Harris said.
“Also, it would afford the BFA to really start the year on a high by playing an international. We have not had the opportunity to play many internationals over the past four years or so, so we’re using this opportunity really to give our team a practice game. It has come in well with the draw for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.”
He added: “Obviously it will give the technical director an opportunity to see what level the Barbados team is at going forward for the World Cup and the Olympic Qualifiers. That is the main purpose.”
Barbados has not played an international since campaigning in the Caribbean Cup qualifiers in Haiti last October, when they finished bottom of the group and missed out on last November’s final round in Jamaica.
The game, scheduled for the National Stadium, will also represent their first friendly international in nearly a year following their 2-0 defeat to Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz last March.
And though the FA hope that Barbados will come away with a positive result from the Guyana encounter, they plan to remain focussed on the bigger objective of team development.
“[The result of] every national game is of major importance to the FA but basically the main reason really would be to show our technical director … what stage and what level the Barbados team is at, and show him the quality of players that he has at his disposal for the future,” Harris reiterated.
A 31-member squad, comprising the bulk of the Under-23 unit, is currently in training for Sunday’s fixture, with the list headed by striker Jabari Chandler, and including midfielder Romario Harewood and frontman Mario Harte, all of whom featured for Barbados last year.
The last time the two teams met at the National Stadium four years ago, Guyana came away with an impressive 2-0 verdict.
