The unbeaten Lady Jaguars will face-off against Central American outfit, Nicaragua, this evening from 20:00hrs at the National Track and Field Centre, Leonora, in a pivotal Group ‘F’ clash in the Concacaf Women’s Qualifiers.
Guyana sits atop the pool on six points, following victories over lowly Dominica (4-0) and Turks and Caicos (7-0). On the other hand, Nicaragua are currently on three points in third place. The Central Americans lost their opening match to Trinidad and Tobago (1-2), but rebounded to brush aside Turks and Caicos (19-0) in their second outing.
Guyana’s squad for the contest, which features five locally born players, are: Chante Sandiford, Natalie Nedd, Raven Edwards-Dowdall, Sydney Cummings, Ghilene Joseph, Reece Scott, Brittany Persaud, Briana DeSouza, Shyla Murray, Tiandi Smith, Calaigh Copland, Shanice Alfred, Mariam el-Masri, Justine Rodrigues, Lakeisha Pearson, Annalisa Vincent, Hannah Baptiste, Stefanie Kouzas, Neema Liverpool, and Otesha Charles.
Lady Jaguars head-coach Ivan Joseph during a pre-match virtual press conference said, “We have a lot of respect for Nicaragua. We have seen how talented they are, [and] they played a lot more games in the recent months leading up this tournament than us. Clearly they can score, they have several quality scorers and have a blend of international as well as domestic players. They play organized, they are very technical, well gifted and you can see they are well coached. I would lie if I didn’t say we were nervous, thank the players and the coach for saying we are favourites but I would consider us the underdog.”
According to Joseph, the group is still wide open with Guyana, Nicaragua, and Trinidad and Tobago, possessing a chance to qualify for the next round, adding that the Lady Jaguars will take the necessary caution during the contest against the high scoring Central Americans.
Joseph further stated that he expects an intense and physical encounter, and hopes a large crowd is in attendance which will certainly add to the spectacle and overall atmosphere of the fixture.
Similarly, Chante Sandiford, captain and goalkeeper of the Lady Jaguars, said that the team’s fitness level, which was of concern in the initial matches, has significantly improved, adding that the squad has also placed emphasis on the area of finishing leading up to this contest.
Meanwhile, Nicaragua head-coach Elna Dixon, using the services of a translator, said, “We are very happy to be here to compete in Guyana, we know that Guyana is the favourite because we are in their hometown but Nicaragua has the chance to win the game and we will do our part.”
She further said, “We are expecting a beautiful game and we want the people to come out and enjoy it, we are going to show them what we have and give them a beautiful game.”
Guyana will conclude their group campaign on Tuesday away to Trinidad and Tobago. The 2022 CONCACAF W Championship serves as the CONCACAF qualifiers to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, as well as for the football tournament at the 2024 Summer Olympics in France.
