IN three days, Guyana’s Senior Men’s National team, popularly known as the ‘Golden Jaguars’, will play French Guiana in Cayenne in a crucial encounter in the CONCACAF Nations League Qualifier.

The new COCNACAF pathway-tournament to the ‘Gold Cup’, affords countries like Guyana, the best opportunity to qualify for the Confederation’s marquee Championship and as such, Golden Jaguars head coach Michael Johnson is adamant that his charges will deliver the ‘W’.

Guyana currently sit 11th on the 34-team table, having won their last game 8-0 away against Turks and Caicos, after opening their Nations League campaign with a painful 2-2 draw against Barbados at the Leonora Track and Field Centre.
French Guiana made their maiden CONCACAF Gold Cup appearance in 2017 but the French-speaking South American Nation has had a rocky start in their quest for a second appearance in 2019.

The side opened with a 0-1 defeat to St Vincent and the Grenadines, but rebounded to overwhelm Anguilla 5-0 in their second outing.
However, French Guiana are currently 16th on the table, and according to Johnson, with them (French Guiana) playing at home, the upcoming fixture’s end result will be critical for Guyana.

“We’re looking forward to the game,” Johnson said, whose team is now in Suriname where they’re encamped before making the journey to Cayenne.
“The guys are in good spirits since the Turks and Caicos game; general play was really good. As a team, as a squad, there’s stiff competition for place as well. We have one and two additions to the squad which always help; help us push the level of performance in individual players,” Johnson noted.

The former Jamaican international stated that French Guiana are “formidable opposition,” adding, “We know that they did well in the first game, but didn’t do well in their second game, but they are quite formidable at home, so we would love to go there, give them their respect, but not be fearful; but be aware that this is obviously important to them because they need to get something from it.

“We need to be guarded, not fearful, but we’re ready for the game, we’re looking forward to it, we know what’s at stake.”
Johnson brought together players based at clubs in Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, England, the United States, Finland and Portugal in his 21-man squad while calling it “strong, balanced and talented.”

Eighteen-year-old Dagenham & Redbridge’s midfield Elliot Bonds has received his first call-up to the Golden Jaguars and will play alongside the likes of Walter Moore, Colin Nelson and Marcel Barrington who are all making a return to the National team. Bonds plays in England’s National League – the fifth tier of English football.

The squad includes US-based striker Emery Welshman, whose FC Cincinnati team will play Major League Soccer in 2019, along with Bury FC’s captain Neil Danns.
The top 10 will qualify for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup, while the top six will qualify for CONCACAF Nations League A alongside the United States, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, Costa Rica, Panama and Honduras. Teams placed 7th to 22nd will compete in CONCACAF Nations League B.

After the important clash with French Guiana, Guyana will play their final qualification against Belize at Leonora Stadium on March 23, 2019.

Goalkeepers: Kai McKenzie-Lyle and Akel Clarke. Defenders: Terence Vancooten, Sam Cox, Kevin Layne, Kevin Dundas, Jake Newton, Walter Moore, Colin Nelson and Ronayne Marsh-Brown. Midfielders: Neil Danns, Elliot Bonds, Brandon Beresford, Anthony Benfield, Daniel Wilson and Stephen Duke-McKenna. Forwards: Emery Welshman, Marcel Barrington, Trayon Bobb, Kadell Daniel and Sheldon Holder.