The Golden Jaguars lost to Ethiopia 0-2 in an international friendly yesterday at the Segra Field in Leesburg, Virginia, United States of America.
Guyana’s starting XI for their maiden encounter against African opposition comprised Akel Clarke, Jeremy Garrett, Reiss Greenidge, Curtez Kellman, Leo Lovell, Raushan Ritch, Daniel Wilson, Darron Niles, Kelsey Benjamin, Deon Moore, and Nicholas MacArthur.
Shemeles Bekele settled the outcome with a double. He opened the scoring for Ethiopia in the 11th minute to ensure they seized the lead heading into the halftime interval. Bekele then sealed the outcome with a 76th minute conversion.
The fixture was Guyana’s first international friendly in preparation for the impending 2023/2024 CONCACAF Nations League. It was also their first outing since their defeat to Guadeloupe in the second round of the Gold Cup Preliminary section.
Guyana will oppose Antigua and Barbuda in their opening match of group D, before hosting The Bahamas on the 12th. They will then travel to Puerto Rico on October 14th before contesting the return match three days later.
Guyana will then travel to The Bahamas on November 18th, before concluding their group campaign at home on November 21st against Antigua and Barbuda. The resulting winner of the group will gain promotion to League A. The cellar occupant will be relegated to League C.
The other groups are Group A: Guadeloupe, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Sint Maarten; Group B: Trinidad and Tobago, Dominican Republic, Montserrat, and Barbados; and Group C: French Guiana, Bermuda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Belize.
In the 2022/2023 edition, Guyana ended in second place on 10 points. In the inaugural 2019/2020 edition, Guyana finished in the runner-up spot in league B with nine points.
