History, and not necessarily playing form will be against the Golden Jaguars this evening when they oppose Caribbean rival Grenada in the opening round of the CONCACAF Gold Cup preliminaries at the DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.
The Guyanese possess a losing record against the ‘Spice Boys’, winning seven of the matches whilst suffering nine defeats alongside a solitary draw. Delving deeper, in the last 10 meetings between the nations, Guyana has a record of three wins and seven losses. On closer analysis, Guyana possesses a record of two wins and three losses in the previous five matches against the Grenadians.
During the entirety of the rivalry, Guyana has recorded 24 goals at a rate of 1.41 goals per match, while conceding 35 goals at a rate of 2.05 per fixture. In the five most recent matchups, Guyana has tallied six goals while conceding an identical number.
Meanwhile, the Golden Jaguars sports an undefeated record in 2023 in completed international fixtures. They defeated Bermuda 2-0 before drawing with Montserrat 0-0. On the other hand, Grenada sport a record of two draws, two losses and a win during the same period.
The ‘Spice Boys’ lost 1-7 to the USA, and 1-2 to St. Lucia, while they drew with 1-1 and 2-2 with Barbados. Their only victory via a 2-0 score-line occurred against St. Lucia.
Meanwhile, the GFF 23-member roster, which features eight locally born or based players, comprises goalkeepers Akel Clarke (locally born/based), Kai McKenzie-Lyle, Renell McKenzie-Lyle; Defenders Samuel Cox, Kadell Daniels, Jeremy Garrett (locally born/based), Liam Gordon, Jonathan Grant, Jalen Jones, Marcus Simmons; Midfielders Elliot Bonds, Neil Danns, Daniel Wilson (locally born/based), Curtez Kellman (locally born/based), Leo Lovell (locally born/based); and Forwards Kelsey Benjamin (locally born/based), Trayon Bobb (locally born/based), Stephen Duke-McKenna, Omari Glasgow (locally born/based), Callum Harriott, Tre Mitford, Deon Moore and Emery Welshman.
If successful against the Grenadians, the Golden Jaguars will play the winner of the Guadeloupe/Antigua and Barbuda fixture for a place in the Gold Cup.
Trinidad and Tobago was initially slated to face off against Guadeloupe but was subsequently elevated to the main tournament after Nicaragua was found guilty of fielding an ineligible player in eight matches during their 2022/2023 Nations League campaign. Antigua and Barbuda was selected to replace Trinidad and Tobago after being the team with the highest total points in League B not to qualify for the Gold Cup preliminaries.
