With less than five days remaining before the Golden Jaguars make their debut in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, Stabroek Sport takes an analytical look at the competing sides in group-D and their current form heading to the prestigious event.
Guyana’s historic campaign in the event pits them against three of the FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifiers hexagonal sides, the only group that features such a combination in the event.
United States of America
As Guyana’s first assignment in the event on June 18th in St. Paul, Minnesota, defending champion United States of America [USA] will be the first team under the microscope.
Ranked 24th on the international circuit, the Americans possess a record of three wins, two losses and a draw in their previous six matches. Further examination of this period indicate that USA are winless in their three most recent clashes with a record of two losses and a draw.
The first three matches during their six game stretch, provided a 3-0 win against 71st ranked Panama [January 27th 2019], a 2-0 victory against 36th ranked Costa Rica [February 2nd 2019] and 1-0 success over 58th ranked Ecuador [March 21st 2019].
However, this was followed by a 1-1 draw with 13th ranked Chile [March 26th 2019], a 0-1 loss to 56th rated Jamaica [June 5th 2019] and a 0-3 defeat to 29th ranked Venezuela [June 9th 2019].
Overall, USA has tallied seven goals while conceding five times during the period. Their squad which contains 17 Major League Soccer [MLS] based players, consists of Goalkeepers Zack Steffen, Sean Johnson, Tyler Miller, Defenders Nick Lima, Omar Gonzalez, Walker Zimmerman, Tim Ream, Reggie Cannon, Daniel Lovitz, Matt Miazga, Aaron Long, Midfielders Michael Bradley, Will Trapp, Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic, Cristian Roldan, Duane Holmes and Forwards Paul Arriola, Gyasi Zardes, Jordan Morris, Jozy Altidore, Jonathan Lewis and Tyler Boyd.
Panama
Next on the list is 74th ranked Panama, who will take the field against the Golden Jaguars on June 22nd in Cleveland, Ohio. The Central Americans enter the tournament winless from their six most recent matches. This is highlighted by four losses and two draws.
A 1-2 defeat to 57th ranked Ecuador [20th November 2018] was followed by a 0-3 loss to 24th ranked United States of America [27th January 2019] and 1-1 stalemate with 3rd ranked Brazil [23rd March 2019].
This was followed by a 0-0 draw with Basque Country (Non-FIFA-Affiliate) [29th May 2019], a 0-3 defeat to 12th ranked Colombia [June 3rd 2019] and a 0-3 setback to 6th ranked Uruguay [7th June 2019].
Panama’s numbers during this period makes for abysmal reading with only two goals scored and a disappointing 12 allowed.
The squad that will be tasked with qualifying for the knockout round reads Goalkeepers Jose Calderon, Luis Mejia, Orlando Moaquera, Defenders Harold Cummings, Eric Davis, Fidel Escobar, Kevin Galvan, Adolfo Machado, Michael Murillo, Francisco Palacios, Roman Torres, Midfielders Abdiel Arroyo, Edgar Barcenas, Armando Cooper Anibal Goday, Valentin Pimentel, Alberto Quintero, Jose Luis Rodrigues, Marcos Sanchez and Forwards Rolando Blackburn, Omar Browne, Jose Fajardo and Gabriel Torres.
Trinidad and Tobago
Lastly, traditional rival Trinidad and Tobago will complete Guyana’s group stage campaign on June 26th in Kansas City, Missouri.
The 93rd ranked ‘Soca Warriors’ arrive at the Biennial Championship with a disappointing record of one win, four losses and a draw.
An impressive 2-0 win over 77th ranked United Arab Emirates [September 6th 2018] was quickly followed by a disappointing 0-1 defeat to 122nd ranked Thailand [14th October 2018], a 0-1 loss to 30th ranked Iran [November 15th 2018] and a 0-1 setback to 19th ranked Wales [20th March 2019].
A 0-0 draw with 26th ranked Japan [June 5th 2019] and 0-2 loss to 78th ranked Canada [10th June 2019] concludes this period, which is highlighted by two goals scored and five conceded.
Trinidad and Tobago’s squad, which features seven locally based players, comprises Goalkeepers Marvin Phillips, Adrian Foncette, Greg Ranjitsingh, Defenders Daniel Cyrus, Carlyle Mitchell, Curtis Gonzales, Mekeil Williams, Alwin Jones, Leland Archer, Midfielders Khaleem Hyland, Joevin Jones, Kevin Molino, Kevan George, Cordell Cato, Nathan Lewis, Leston Paul, Levi Garcia, Jomal Williams, Neveal Hacksaw, Akeem Humphrey, Duane Muckette and Forwards Lester Peltier and Shahdon Winchester. (Compiled by Duncan Saul)
