Guyana’s Golden Jaguars will battle Guatemala this evening from 9:30pm in the first round of the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup Qualifier at the DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The winner of this first round qualification fixture will battle the winner of the Guadeloupe/The Bahamas encounter on July 6 for a place in the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup.
Speaking at a pre-match press conference, head-coach Marcio Maximo said, “We are happy to be here. The main idea is to have a competitive game. We know Guatemala are powerful, but it’s a great experience for us. We know they are the favourite for the game but we will go to the pitch to play a competitive game. That is our first objective and show that we have the quality and condition to make it.”
Asked what qualification to the Gold Cup group stage would mean to the nation, the Brazilian native said, “It would be a great achievement for us especially because we are using a lot of local players which I think is important for our development.”
He added, “Half the players are youth players, that is great way for Guyana and I am sure that Guyana in a few years will be a powerful country in the Concacaf region and federation.”
Captain Matthew Briggs said, “We have been going a transition stage. We have mixed it around a bit but we have a good mixture and balance now. I have been very impressed with the youngsters who are not afraid to play and it gives the team the confidence as a collective.”
He added that the practice matches were utilized to prepare the team tactically and physically and it showed in the prior Bermuda result which was a deserved 1-0 victory.
History is firmly in the corner of the Central American nation has a perfect 2-0 record against the Guyanese. The first meeting in November 2010 ended 3-0 while the second fixture finished 2-0 in February 2012.
Guatemala, who also boast historic regional pedigree following their triumph at the 1967 Concacaf Championship – the predecessor to the Gold Cup- enters the contest undefeated in nine matches.
Their catalogue during this phase consists of six wins and three draws. ‘Los Chapines’ recorded victories against Honduras (2-1), Puerto Rico (1-0), Nicaragua (1-0), Cuba (1-0), British Virgin Islands (3-0) and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (10-0.)
Scoreless encounters occurred against Nicaragua, Curacao and El Salvador. During that competitive window, they have tallied 18 goals at a rate of two goals per match.
Defensively they have only conceded once. Guatemala was last defeated against regional powerhouse Mexico (3-0) in September 2020.
Guyana in their previous five international matches stumbled to a record of three losses, one win and a draw.
They suffered defeats to Trinidad and Tobago (0-4) St. Kitts and Nevis (0-3) and Puerto Rico (0-2), with their only win coming against the Bahamas (4-0). The drawn result was fashioned against Jamaica (1-1). In the aforementioned timeline, Guyana has tallied five goals, with their defense conceding an unwanted nine times.
The Golden Jaguars squad reads: Goalkeepers Akel Clarke, Shawn Adonis, Kai McKenzie-Lyle, Defenders Marcus Wilson, Matthew Briggs, Liam Gordon, Terrence Vancooten, Nicholai Andrews, Reece Greenidge, Kevin Layne, Midfielders Nathan Moriah-Welsh, Javier George, Daniel Wilson, Job Caesar, Curtez Kellman, Stephen Duke-McKenna, Forwards Connor Kurran-Browne, Keanu Marsh-Brown, Omari Glasgow, Kelsey Benjamin, Sheldon Holder, Trayon Bobb, and Emery Welshman.
