HEAD coach of the Golden Jaguars, Michael Johnson, has made it clear that Guyana will not be a walkover at this year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup, when they face-off against defending champions USA and regional rivals Trinidad and Tobago, as well as Panama, in Group D of the 16-team tournament.

“We’re going to enjoy it! Nobody really gave us a chance to be here, and I’d imagine that nobody would really give us a chance to get out the group,” Johnson boldly stated.

Guyana’s first game is against USA on June 18 in Minneapolis, after which, coach Michael Johnson and his squad will travel to Cleveland to take on Panama on June 22 at the FirstEnergy Stadium, before playing their final group game against Trinidad and Tobago on June 26 at the Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas.

Speaking at the draw in Los Angeles, Johnson said that he’s banking on a profoundly skilled group of players he strongly believes in “and they believe that on any given day, we could beat any team in CONCACAF”.

Meanwhile, president of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Wayne Forde pointed out that “Guyana could not have been in a better group. We have everything to play for and absolutely nothing to lose. The earlier projection for national visibility has just doubled; this is simply a win-win for our beloved Golden Jaguars.

T&T are old foes that will have all the pressure on them and USA are desperately trying to rebuild their confidence which will play into the strength of our boys.”

Ian Greenwood, the GFF’s Technical Director, pointed out that despite the group being strong, “we know what we can do against Trinidad – we played them recently and performed well. Obviously, it’s very, very strong with Panama just coming out of the World Cup, and USA as well, but we’re very excited about what we can do in preparation for these games.”

The 2019 Gold Cup features an expanded field, with 16 teams for the first time, including first-time entrants Bermuda and Guyana.

The United States will host the majority of the matches, but this year’s tournament will feature group-stage games in Costa Rica and Jamaica –  the first time Gold Cup games have been hosted outside of the US, Canada or Mexico.