… Maximo encouraged by enthusiasm of local players

WITH Guyana getting set to face Trinidad and Tobago on March 25 in the Twin Island Republic, head coach of the Golden Jaguars, Marcio Maximo, is hoping to land an International Friendly in order to properly prepare for their 2022 Qatar World Cup Qualifier campaign. Maximo, speaking to Chronicle Sport recently, said Guyana Football Federation (GFF) is pushing hard and making all the calls needed to pull-off a match by the end of February or early March. Guyana’s opening CONCACAF World Cup Qualifier opposition, Soca Warriors, fell 7-0 to Confederation powerhouse USA last Sunday, but Maximo isn’t making much of the game, or the result. Maximo insisted that Trinidad are still one of the better teams in CONCACAF, more so in the English-speaking Caribbean and as such, the team that faced Gregg Berhalter in Orlando, Florida will not be the side lacing-up against Guyana. The former Brazilian national youth coach felt the USA game, for Trinidad, presented a good opportunity for coach Terry Fenwick to test the domestic players on his roster and also allowed him a chance to see first-hand what some of his overseas-based recruits had to offer.

According to Maximo, “The pandemic affects all countries around. Some countries were able to make a friendly match, while some were not. And those who were able to get a match, probably would gave made those plans in advance, so GFF is trying to get a match, so that we can see the domestic players because our overseas players are still in competition.” “So we’re hoping to get a friendly match at the end of February or early March. The guys come to training, work hard; so we have to reward them and must be able to see what they are capable of against another country,” Maximo noted. The Brazilian, known for his pro-local approach, pointed out that “the average age of the national team now is about 23 years. That is very low and it’s good, so now, we just have to give experience to them so I’m confident that we can go further in the qualifiers.” Meanwhile, asked about an alternative to not having an international friendly, Maximo said, “There’s no substitute plan because this is not a problem that’s facing Guyana alone. So, we practice every day and we raise the bar to make it more realistic like a game situation; but we need a friendly match and we should understand the reality.

We have to fix the gap between us and some of the teams who are getting friendly matches.”
The Golden Jaguars were drawn in Group F of the Qualifier alongside Trinidad and Tobago, The Bahamas, Puerto Rico and St Kitts & Nevis.
After their clash with the ‘Trinis’, Golden Jaguars will return home to roar against The Bahamas on Tuesday, March 30.
On Friday, June 4, Guyana will travel to St Kitts & Nevis for their third game and then host Puerto Rico on Tuesday, June 8.
Guyana last faced Trinidad and Tobago during the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup, where, despite a beautiful goal scored by Neil Danns, the two sides ended the match with a 1-1 draw.
Guyana only played Puerto Rico twice at the senior level internationally, with the U.S. territory winning 2-0 in 1993, and Golden Jaguars, with a goal from defender King Solomon Austin, winning 1-0. The clash against St Kitts and Nevis will mark the third meeting for Guyana, but it will also be the first time the two countries are meeting during a World Cup qualification tournament.