Guyana’s National Senior Men’s football team, the Golden Jaguars, will look to rebound from their 2-0 loss against Panama in their opening Concacaf World Cup Qualifier game last Thursday, when they come up against Belize today at 6 pm.
Playing in their ‘home’ fixture in Barbados due to Guyana being bereft of an acceptable international standard football facility, the game is being held at the Wildey Astro Turf Stadium in Bridgetown. The Guyanese will be looking to improve their record against the Central Americans as action in Group D of the Qualifiers continue.
In two previous meetings, Belize won one while Guyana took the other. In their first meeting 22 years ago, an international friendly, Belize won 3-1 while the Golden Jaguars claimed a 2-1 win over the Belizeans in the Concacaf Nations League in 2019.
This time around, the Golden Jaguars are in a must-win situation, as their progression in the World Cup Qualifiers depends on a positive outcome.
Belize are in the same boat, as they conceded a 4-0 defeat to Nicaragua on Saturday.
In their previous 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, Guyana finished with a record of one win and three losses, finishing fourth place in their group with three points. Guyana thrashed 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 qualifiers which are in its second round will see teams play two home and two away fixtures with the resulting group winner and runner-up advancing to the next phase.
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.
Guyana’s squad reads:
Goalkeepers: Quillan Roberts, Kai McKenzie Lyle and Akel Clarke.
Defenders: Curtez Kellman, Jalen Jones, Colin Nelson, Terrence Vancooten, Quincy Adams, Leo Lovell, Liam Gordon, Terique Mohammed, and Miquel Scarlett.
Midfielders: Nathan Ferguson, Ryan Hackett, Elliot Bonds, Daniel Wilson, Nathan Moriah Welch, Stephen Duke McKenna, Kadel Daniel, and Darron Niles.
Forwards: Kelsey Benjamin, Omari Glasgow, Deon Moore, and Osaze De Rosario.
