The Belize National team arrived on local shores yesterday for their must-win encounter with the Golden Jaguars on Saturday in the CONCACAF Nations League at the National Track & Field Centre, Leonora.
Addressing the media following their arrival at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Goalkeeper Woodrow West said, “We come here to do our job and try to win.”
West who plies his trade for Honduras outfit Deportivo Progreso, added, “It’s going to be a tough game, but we’re here to win. It’s a complicated game, we’re away from home, we’re on their (Guyana) turf, and we don’t have any much information on them, which makes it a complicated match, so we’ll have to just stick to our game plan.”
The complete playing roster reads Goalkeeper Shane Orio, West, Defenders Elroy Smith, Evral Trapp, Ian Gaynair, Dalton Eiley Jr, Trevor Lennen, Michael Atkinson, Midfielders Daniel Jimenez, San Mendez, Elroy Kuylen Jr, Nahjib Guerra, Krisean Lopez, Andres Makin, Nana Mensah, Forwards Harrison Roches, Michael Salazar Jr, Deon McCaulay and Randy Padilla.
On the technical staff side, Palmiro Salas will serve as the head-coach, with Dale Pelayo and Kent Gray acting as the Assistant and Goalkeeping coach respectively.
Ernest Morris will act in the capacity of Physical Trainer, with Herbert Trap, Denys Belisle, Carlos Crespo, Wilhelm Miguel and Ian Francis Haylock serving as Equipment, Manager, Physiotherapist, Doctor, Team Manager and Head of Delegation respectively.
The clash will be the second meeting of the nations, with the previous engagement ending 3-1 in favour of the visitors in 2002.
Commonly known as the ‘Jaguars’, a victory for the Belizeans would seal their second appearance in the CONCACAF Gold Cup following their 2013 participation, despite only making their international debut in 1995.
Presently, Belize sits on six points in 13 position following two wins and a defeat during their campaign.
Home victories were recorded against Bahamas [4-0 on matchday-1] and Puerto Rico [1-0 on matchday-3], with their only defeat coming at the hands of a formidable and unbeaten Montserrat side [1-0 on matchday-3], a team that fields more than 70 percent of foreign based players.
Examination of their squad over the campaign, illustrates an emphasis on breeding local content.
In total eight foreign based players have been used by the Belizean management team during the last 12 months, with 28 locally based players forming the core of the selection process.
