The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has finalised its 21-member roster for their group B campaign at the impending CONCACAF Men’s U20 Qualifiers, which will be staged in Antigua and Barbuda.
This was confirmed by a source close to the federation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. According to the source, the team, which is under the supervision of recently appointed head coach Kayode McKinnon, comprises goalkeepers: Duqain Samuels, Julian Casimir, and Emmanuel Lewis; defenders: Tyler Lyle, Tyrel Stephen, Jayden Culley, Gerry Burnett, Tyrese Lyle, Kymani Sealey, and Jaden Thom; midfielders: Rodensio Tudor, Shamiah Samuels, Ezekiel Rowland, Solomon Austin, Kvist Paul, Brandon Khedoo, and Nathaniel Pydana; and forwards: Kyle Reid, Bryan Wharton, Matrim Martin, and Perry Gaul.
Meanwhile, GFF Technical Director Bryan Joseph, in a brief comment, revealed that the squad will depart local shores on the 21st and that approximately nine players from the diaspora have made the final cut.
Probed if the preparatory period was ideal, Joseph stated, “I’m not satisfied with the level of preparation; obviously, we would have loved to have more time and for the preparation period to be longer, but given the short time we had, I think the work that coach has done has put us in a position to be competitive in this group.”
He further said, “The expectation is for us to get out of the group as winners and into the championship. We are not looking past the others, but if we were to play the game against El Salvador, it would increase our chances of winning the group.”
The Golden Jaguars have been drawn in group B of the qualifiers, which will occur across five venues in the Caribbean and Central America during the period of February 23rd–March 2nd. The teams were seeded in their respective pots based on their current rankings.
The Guyanese, who were seeded in pool 4 of the five-pot selection process, have been paired with El Salvador, Antigua and Barbuda, Suriname, and Turks and Caicos. The matches will be staged in Antigua and Barbuda at the island’s technical centre.
Guyana, which is ranked 27th, will open its campaign against the hosts on February 23rd. They will then oppose El Salvador two days later, before battling Suriname on the 27th. Guyana’s final match will occur on February 29th against the Turks and Caicos.
In the 2022 edition, the Golden Jaguars ended with a record of one win, a loss, and a draw. Guyana played a scoreless affair with the Cayman Islands before crushing the US Virgin Islands 5-1 in their second outing. In their final match, Guyana lost 0-5 to Nicaragua in a must-win encounter.
Meanwhile, group A of the qualifiers comprises Cuba, Nicaragua, Belize, the British Virgin Islands, and Anguilla, while group C contains Guatemala, Curacao, Aruba, Saint Martin, and Barbados, and group D consists of Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Dominica.
On the other hand, group E is made up of Haiti, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts and Nevis, and the Cayman Islands, with Jamaica, Bermuda, Grenada, and Martinique comprising group F.
Upon the conclusion of the group stage, the respective pool winner will advance to the 2024 CONCACAF Men’s U-20 Championship, joining the top six seeds that have automatically qualified in the form of the defending champion United States of America, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic.
