– fixtures will decide roster berths for local players
The Golden Jaguars senior men’s outfit will contest two international friendlies against arch-nemesis Trinidad and Tobago, which will be used to select the remaining roster spots for locally based players for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
This was disclosed in an official release from the Guyana Football Federation (GFF). According to the correspondence, the matches will be staged on May 13th and 15th at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, Trinidad, with 24 players from the recently concluded GFF Elite League first round set to feature. The team will depart on May 11th.
Head coach Jamaal Shabazz said the matches provide an avenue for home-based talents to be exposed in an effort to widen the selection pool, noting, “Trinidad and Tobago are formidable opponents, and it will provide a clear test for the home-based players vying for spots on the final squad for FIFA World Cup qualifiers in June.”
Meanwhile, GFF President Wayne Forde stated that the federation will continue to invest in the national programme, noting, “Our continuous collaborations with footballing nations throughout the Caribbean, South America, and even Africa show our dedication to providing Guyanese players with valuable international playing time and competitive matchups. I am looking forward to the matches, and I am confident that the players will seize this chance to earn a spot in the final squad for the upcoming Concacaf Qualifiers for the World Cup 2026.”
The Golden Jaguars have been drawn in Group D in the second round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, which is scheduled to commence in June. The Guyanese have been paired with Panama, Nicaragua, Montserrat, and Belize.
In their previous 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, Guyana ended with a record of one win and three losses to finish in fourth place on three points. Guyana defeated the Bahamas 4-0 but suffered defeats against Trinidad and Tobago [0-3], St. Kitts and Nevis [0-3], and Puerto Rico [0-2].
Meanwhile, group A comprises Honduras, Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba, Bermuda, and the Cayman Islands, while group B contains Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, and the Bahamas.
Group C encompasses Haiti, Curacao, St. Lucia, Barbados, and Aruba, while Group E comprises Jamaica, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Dominica, and the winner of the British Virgin Islands/US Virgin Islands encounter.
Finally, group F is made up of El Salvador, Suriname, Puerto Rico, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the winner of the Turks and Caicos Islands/Anguilla fixture.
The first round of the qualifiers featured teams ranked from 29–32 [US Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, and Turks and Caicos] and was contested on a home and away series basis. The two winners from this section advanced to the second round.
Similarly, the second round of the qualifiers will feature two winners from the first round and teams ranked from 1–28 based on the November 2023 FIFA rankings.
The teams will be drawn into six groups of five and will play two home and two away fixtures. The resulting group winner and runner-up will advance to the third section.
The third round, which runs from September to November, will feature 12 teams divided into three groups of four. Following home and away group fixtures, the eventual winners of each pool will qualify for the World Cup. The two best-ranked runners-up will advance to the inter-confederation playoff. Following the competition’s expansion, CONCACAF has been awarded eight berths, three of which will be allocated to the host nations of Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America. Three direct slots and two inter-confederation playoffs will be available for the remaining participants.
