The Golden Jaguars went down 0-1 to Cape Verde in an international friendly yesterday in the inaugural FIFA Series at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Guyana’s starting XI comprised Quillan Roberts, Colin Nelson, Curtez Kellman, Jeremy Garrett, Liam Gordon, Leo Lovell, Daniel Wilson, Elliot Bonds, Omari Glasgow, Deon Moore, and Stephen Duke-McKenna.
In what was the first ever meeting of the nations, Ryan Mendes separated the two sides in the second minute with a powerful right-footed strike into the roof of the left corner from inside the right of the penalty area.
The score-line remained unchanged due to several notable saves from goalkeeper Roberts. The first occurred in the 38th minute, as he thwarted his opponent during a one-on-one situation. Guyana’s best chance in the entire fixture occurred in the 45th minute, as Elliot Bonds volleyed a right-footed effort from inside the centre of the penalty area straight to the goalkeeper.
Roberts once again was at the forefront of the Guyanese defensive line, as he pushed a powerful freekick from outside the centre of the 18-yard box onto the crossbar in the 50th minute. An outstretched hand in the 61st minute from Roberts denied Cape Verde, as the custodian deflected a strike from inside the left of the penalty area after the forward had received a cross from the right side.
His final noteworthy save of the evening occurred three minutes later, denying a powerful header from inside the left of the penalty area after latching onto a cross from the right side of the field.
Guyana will now face off against Cambodia on March 26th at the same venue. The novel initiative, which was approved by the FIFA Council in 2023, will witness matches being staged within the six confederations during each even-numbered year.
The objective of the programme is to afford more international matches and interactions between confederations, which will aid in the overall development of the sport. The pilot edition of the programme features 20 member associations playing in four locations across three continents. The other three hosts are Algeria, Azerbaijan, and Sri Lanka.
