The Golden Jaguars forgotten man! The label perfectly sums up the international existence of Shaquille Agard. Once an emerging talent within the realms of the programme, Agard has remained in the international wilderness for close to three years, with the reasons for his unlikely exclusions remaining unknown.
Agard, 26, has recorded five caps over the course of six years, after making his unlikely international debut in 2014 during the ill-fated CFU Championship, where a youthful Guyana squad ended with a record of two losses and one draw. His previous outing for the Golden Jaguars occurred in 2017 during a 2-1 loss to Indonesia. Agard was the lone scorer for the visitors in what was his second ever starting berth.
The versatile left-footed attacker, who currently plies his trade for Masters FA in League1, the third tier in the Canadian Football Pyramid, stated during an exclusive interview that he still harbors ambition of returning to the international fold, as it is the highest honor to represent your country.
The soft spoken Agard remarked, “I’ve been playing and training at a high level here in Canada in preparation for a possible chance at representing my country again. It was one of my greatest honours as a footballer to do so the first time and I would like to experience that feeling again. I’m ready!”
Agard’s continued exclusion from the senior programme continues to draw queries for many local analysts, following his exploits in the North American nation. After all, the wily forward recently accumulated seven goals and 11 assists in 10 fixtures as his team secured the league title and a place in the prestigious Canadian Championship, the only tournament which garners a direct berth for Canadian teams to the Concacaf Champions League.
According to Agard, “I believe God always has a plan and that everything happens for a reason. If the coach feels I’m ready to take that next step, then all I can do is make sure that I’m as prepared as I’ve ever been to reward his faith. While I was in the Elite League (in Guyana) I had five goals in seven games. Then I was disallowed to carry on because of some issues with my transfer.”
He added, “It’s not for me to say. I’m in the best shape of my life and have been training and playing at a high level, so I can be ready to represent my country when called upon.”
Despite being overlooked for the Concacaf Gold Cup preliminary squad following the shortlisting of 48 players, Agard remains committed to the programme and is confident that Guyana can achieve positive results during the upcoming qualifiers.
“Anything can happen in football. It’s our job to come prepared to give ourselves the best chance possible at winning that match. We have a lot of talent within the squad that are capable of winning on any given day. Whether I play for Guyana or not I will always be a fan of our players and team so I believe that they can win against anyone when the time comes.”
