AFTER touching down in Miami, USA on Wednesday at varying times, Guyana’s Senior Men’s National Team, commonly known as the ‘Golden Jaguars’ engaged in their first training session at The Gardens North County District Park, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Head coach Márcio Máximo along with his assistants, Wilson Toledo, Charles Pollard and Wayne Dover, took the players through the paces during a session that allowed the squad to get back in the groove after a long day of travel from various parts of the globe.
Máximo revealed that the session went well given the circumstances of long travels by the players, but stressed that the intensity will be back to its usual from today.
The team would also be engaged in two warm-up matches as the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) seeks to ensure that the players are well prepared for the Guatemala hurdlem come July 3.
“I think that the session is normal because some players come from cold temperatures and some from hot, and it’s their first session after a long trip so I think they all reacted well considering the circumstances,” Maximo said.

Once again, the leading tactician of the team expressed satisfaction with the level of commitment being shown by his charges, underscoring that this is the best team that is available to Guyana, a mixture of young and exciting players along with some experience.
“They all have a real desire to represent Guyana. They want to show something, knowing that the times are very challenging but they are committed to the programme. We go to the pitch to compete; it’s a tough test but it’s good for us and important for our players. We will never give up; we will maintain the intensity and compete. This is our target,” said Maximo.
The warm-up matches, set for June 26 and 28, are very important according to Máximo, who expressed gratitude on behalf of his team, to GFF president Wayne Forde and his executive for the hard work they have been putting in for the team.

He noted that the matches would allow the technical team the opportunity to use all the players they have here with a view of selecting the best for the immediate challenge ahead.
“Our main objective is for everybody to get some competitive playing time, I cannot use just one set of players in these matches, I need rotation to put everybody to play, because against Guatemala we would have only five subs, so we have to give everyone the chance to get some competitive time in these matches to test them,” the Golden Jaguars head coach added.
Should Guyana successfully get past Guatemala, they will play either Guadeloupe or The Bahamas on July 6 for a place in the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup round-of-16.