With the Golden Jaguars set to open their FIFA World Cup Qualifying campaign against arch-rival Trinidad and Tobago tomorrow, former International Vurlon Mills feels that encounter could eventually decide who progresses to the next round in the prestigious tournament.
In an exclusive interview yesterday with Stabroek Sport, Mills, who retired from international play in 2020 said, “I think if we don’t get a positive result against Trinidad and Tobago it will affect us going forward. This result is very important to Guyana, mainly to boost our confidence and this game can really decide if we are to go through or not. It’s really going to highlight the team’s strengths and weaknesses, definitely we need to get a result because it can possibly decide if we progress to the next round or not. I think we can progress if we get the win.”
Due to logistical and financial reasons, the GFF agreed for the Golden Jaguars opening two fixtures in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers to be contested in the Dominican Republic.
Guyana will open its Group-F campaign against the ‘Soca Warriors’ tomorrow at the Estadio Panamericano in San Cristobal before locking horns with The Bahamas national side five days later.
In their third match, Guyana will travel to St. Kitts and Nevis for Friday June 4th before ending their group round at home on June 8th against Puerto Rico.
Only the group winner will progress to the second stage of the qualifiers.
Mills added that while the ‘Soca Warriors’ have dominated the ‘head-to-head’ history between the nations, he anticipates a very competitive fixture which has often typified the encounters.
He expounded, “We have always had a rivalry with Trinidad and Tobago. While they have more wins, it was never an easy contest. This match is important for the history between the teams, the players and to boost the team’s confidence. I think it will be a balanced game, I think Guyana stands a very good chance. Guyana has a younger team, a bit less experienced on this squad but I must say that Coach (Marcio) Maximo is doing his work and the team is prepared to compete. Trinidad will be expecting a tough game, they know it’s not a walkover, and they are going to be more defensive given the recent results against us. I think we stand a fair chance of winning.”
Asked about the general composition of the squad, the Fruta Conquerors midfielder revealed, “I think this coach is trying to bring in many youth and U23 players to have a smooth transition. Before we couldn’t have this type of transition because it was too much of a gap between the senior players and the next wave of players coming into the programme.
“The coach is building for a few years down the line. I think mainly that is the plan. We are looking at a few years down the line and its transition period. We had so many senior players before and didn’t have a natural transition within the team.”
