An analysis of Guyana’s U20 football programme
Guyana’s return to local shores and the subsequent praise afforded to the team for a successful campaign in the CONCACAF Men’s U20 Football Qualifiers, though justifiable, has piqued interest from many pundits in a thorough analysis of their performance.
The keyword in this analysis, which will compare the team’s performance against their previous campaigns, is perspective. After all, the team acquitted themselves well, registering a record of three wins and a loss. Their lone blemish to the hosts sealed their exit from the tournament.
In some circles of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), the team has been credited, as best to ever to represent Guyana at this age group due to their results and overall success. In a results-driven environment, the aforementioned record might present a valid and justifiable case for such a proclamation.
While congratulations are in order for the team’s showing, analysis from records of the previous sojourns at this age group, if objectively scrutinised, presents possibly a different case. Let’s look at the numbers. Before a ball was kicked, the tournament commenced on an unfortunate note, as five players were denied entry after failing to satisfy the 10-day quarantine period for the Yellow Fever vaccine.
This is the only area that the GFF should shoulder blame, as they ought to know the modus operandi of Nicaragua’s immigration policies in light of the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic. The players denied entry were Javier George (overseas), Ronaldo Blair, Joel Isaacs, Kemule Batson and Andre Mayers. No member of the seven-person management staff was denied entry.
Interestingly, George and Blair were allowed to enter Nicaragua several days later though they missed two matches. This fact was never acknowledged by the federation. I wonder why? Time to get to the numbers. Unlike the 2018 edition of the tournament, the 2020 competition, which featured 33 entrants, was divided into two sections. Eight nations opted not to compete in the event.
The highest-ranked 16 entrants were exempted from qualifying and progressed directly into the group stage round of the Championship section. (The top three finishers from each of the four groups entered the round of 16 zone.)
Meanwhile the lowest ranked 17 nations had to participate in the qualifying round, with the four respective group winners advancing to the round of 16 section of the Championship zone. Guyana was drawn in group-A, the only pool with five teams, and was ranked 25th. Their other opponents were Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), US Virgin Islands (USVI) and Montserrat.
Nicaragua, who served as hosts, was the highest ranked team in the group on 20th. SVG was ranked at 28th. These were followed by USVI on 33rd, with the Montserrat the lowest ranked team in the confederation at this age group on 41st. The tournament seeding was based on the June 2019 rankings.
The median seeding for Guyana’s group was 29.4, which was the lowest ranked group in comparison to the other three sections. Group-B consisted of host Dominican Republic (17th), Grenada (24th), Dominica (26th) and Anguilla (36th). Their median seeding was 25.7.
Similarly, Group-C comprised host Curaçao (19th), Guadeloupe (22nd), Belize (30th) and Saint Martin (32nd), with a group average seeding of 25.7. On the other hand, Group-D, which attained the highest median ranking of 24.2, featured hosts Puerto Rico (21st), Bermuda (18th), Cayman Islands (27th) and Barbados (31st).
As expected, and based on their superior ranking, Guyana defeated Montserrat 6-0, SVG 3-0 and the USVI 2-0. Their only defeat came at the hands of the higher ranked hosts via a 1-0 score line. In comparison, the 2018 tournament which was hosted in the United States of America, did not feature a qualifying tournament. (All of the 34 entrants were guaranteed a minimum of four matches. Seven countries did not participate).
Guyana was placed in Pot 3 during the official seeding, and was drawn with El Salvador (a seeded team, the other major seeds were USA, Mexico, Honduras, Panama and Costa Rica), as well as Guatemala (Pot 1), Curacao (Pot 2) and Cayman Islands (Pot 4).
The Golden Jaguars finished the tournament with a record of one win and three losses. Guyana defeated El Salvador 2-0, but lost to Guatemala (0-4), Cayman Islands (2-3) and Curaçao (3-4).
The rankings of their aforesaid opponents are as follows: El Salvador – 6th, Guatemala – 11th, Curaçao – 19th and Cayman Islands – 27th. This illustrates that Guyana was in a far superior and tougher campaign in the 2018 edition in comparison to the 2020 qualifiers.
Interestingly, Nicaragua was seeded in Pot 3 in the 2018 event. On the other hand, SVG and the USVI were placed in Pot 4 and Pot 5 (lowest ranked teams) respectively. Montserrat did not participate. Probing deeper into the 2018 numbers, Nicaragua ended their group-B campaign in fourth place with a record of two wins and three losses. Two of the defeats occurred against Jamaica (0-3) and Grenada (0-2) respectively.
Similarly, SVG and USVI finished their group-A campaign in fifth and sixth place correspondingly. The Vincentians ended with a record of one win and four losses, while USVI suffered five consecutive defeats. USVI also finished the tournament with worst goal differential of -38, after scoring twice and conceding 40.
Time to take a stroll down memory lane, through the CONCACAF archives. In the CONCACAF Youth Tournaments Era (1962-1996), Guyana featured in three editions. They were 1984, 1992 and 1994.
Competing in Round 1 of Group 3 in 1984, Guyana advanced to the second stage after finishing with a record of two wins and a loss. They famously defeated eventual zone winner Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) 2-1, before they edged Netherland Antilles by the identical score. Their only loss occurred against Panama by a 2-1 score.
In the Round 2, which only featured eight teams, Guyana finished at the bottom of Group-B following three consecutive losses. The Guyanese went down to heavyweights Mexico 2-0, Honduras 2-0 and Canada 2-0. Mexico went on to win their eighth title, defeating Canada in the final 2-1.
In the 1992 Qualifying tournament, Guyana ended their Group-C campaign winless, following defeats to Suriname (0-3), French Guiana (0-3) and T&T (1-2). Fast forward to the 1994 Qualifiers, Guyana entered in the second round and defeated Aruba 6-0 in a two-legged playoff. The first leg ended 4-0 while the second finished 2-0. Playing in Group-C of the Championship, the Guyanese ended winless after suffering three consecutive defeats to the USA (1-4), T&T (0-1) and El Salvador (5-0).
In the FIFA U20 World Cup Qualifying Era (1998-2007), Guyana defeated Netherland Antilles 3-1 in a second round two-legged playoff to seal their place in the final round of the 1998 qualifiers. First leg ended 2-0 while the return fixture concluded 1-1.
In the final section, the Guyanese finished the campaign with one victory and two defeats. Jamaica crushed Guyana 6-0 while Grenada also defeated the Golden Jaguars 2-0. A 3-1 victory over Antigua and Barbuda was also recorded. The 2003 Qualifying Tournament proved to be a short campaign as Suriname defeated Guyana 4-0 in their first round two-legged playoff.
In the 2005 Qualifiers, Guyana was eliminated after ending Group-A with one win and two defeats. Guyana lost to T&T 2-0 and Grenada 1-0. They defeated Barbados 3-2. Moving onto the 2007 Qualifiers, Guyana crashed out of Group-E with a record of a win, a loss and a defeat. The Golden Jaguars bested Netherland Antilles 2-1, before losing to Suriname 4-2. They drew with Aruba 1-1.
In the present era, the CONCACAF U20 Championship period, Guyana was eliminated in the first round of qualifiers of the 2009 edition following a record of one win, one loss and a defeat. The Guyanese lost to SVG 2-1, drew with Grenada 2-2 and defeated British Virgin Islands 14-0.
In the 2011 Qualifiers, Guyana advanced to the second round, after finishing second in Group-C with a record of two wins and a loss. Guyana defeated USVI 5-1 and Grenada 3-0 but lost to Jamaica 0-2. Guyana was then eliminated in the second phase following a record of one win and two defeats. Losses to Bermuda (0-3) and Suriname (1-2) alongside a win against Netherland Antilles (2-1) underscored the campaign.
Examining the 2013 Qualifiers, Guyana fell at the first round following a record of one win and two losses in group-D. The defeats came at the hands of T&T (1-2) and SVG (1-3), with win occurring against Suriname (2-1). Guyana did not enter the 2015 and 2017 Qualifiers.
Despite an excellent showing at the 2020 edition, and based on the examined data, the 1984 team can boast of possibly being the best to ever represent Guyana at this pivotal age group. This is clearly evident as Guyana progressed from the first round and into the second section while facing quality throughout the entirety of the 16-team championship.
Their only losses came against formidable opponents in the form of Panama, eventual winner Mexico, Honduras and Canada, with their wins occurring against formidable teams in T&T and Netherland Antilles.
