Following the revelation of Guyana’s opponents for the upcoming Concacaf Men’s U20 Qualifiers, head-coach of the programme Wayne Dover revealed that he is pleased with the draw which features familiar faces.
This was disclosed during an exclusive interview with Stabroek Sport.
“It is a similar group from the last outing in these championships,” said Dover.
“I have noticed USVI and Nicaragua in the group campaign. The only thing is that the number of teams decreased from five to four and the Cayman Islands make up the group and we have played them before in 2018. I am satisfied with the group,” he added.
Dover says he thinks that the draw is a fair one.
“One of the things I recognise and accept is that we don’t have control how the group is put together. I think it’s a fair draw.”
The Golden Jaguars were selected in Group-D of the Concacaf Men’s Under-20 Qualifiers Friday following the official draw in Miami, Florida.
Guyana has been selected with the trio of Nicaragua, Cayman Islands, and US Virgin Islands. Meanwhile, in Group-A, the teams are Curacao, Grenada, Dominica, Sint Maarten and British Virgin Islands, while Group-B comprises Dominican Republic, Saint Lucia, Belize, Saint Martin and Anguilla.
Group-C consists of Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, and Montserrat. According to an official release from regional confederation, the qualifiers will be staged in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from November 5 to 14, with the four eventual group winners progressing to the 2022 Concacaf Men’s Under-20 Championship.
Asked about his expectations of the tournament following the disclosure of his opponents, Dover said that he is optimistic of securing positive results.
“We will place optimism in approaching these games, and try to do our best to ensure that we get positive results. If the Nicaraguans play the same way like the last time and we will get a chance to see them in the earlier games, I don’t see why we should choose a different approach from the last time. Our approach was very good the last time and we neutralised them in their strong areas and it was a bit unfortunate how the game ended with the red card and conceding a second half goal and losing 1-0.
“However, we do know that every game brings a different performance and result and of course we will wait to see how they play this time before finalising our approach,” he added.
Guyana competed in the 2018 and 2020 versions of the event. In the 2020 version which featured a qualifying section, 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 Nicaragua via a 1-0 score line which sealed their exit from the competition.
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).
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).
Presently, the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has commissioned a U20 talent ID program to aid in the selection of the squad for the upcoming event.
