GUYANA will open League B of the CONCACAF Nations League against Montserrat tonight in the Dominican Republic, and the country’s National football team’s head coach, Jamaal Shabazz, is eager to get into action. The match will kick off at 19:30hrs at the Estadio Félix Sánchez.

Drawn in Group B, Golden Jaguars will roar against Haiti, Bermuda and Montserrat in home and away fixtures.
Following friendlies against Barbados, Suriname and French Guiana, Shabazz held a week-long encampment in Trinidad and Tobago, featuring several of the country’s top local-based players and their overseas-based equals.

Following the camp’s conclusion, Shabazz selected the country’s 24-man squad for their opening matches, while highlighting, “the competitiveness for places has increased and the intensity has increased, so it was difficult to pick 24 players out of the 31 we had in camp.”

The 24-man squad includes Neil Danns, Sam Cox, Pernell Schultz, Job Caesar, Stephen Duke McKenna, Omari Glasgow, Terrell Ondaan, Kelsey Benjamin, Tre Medford, Trayon Bobb and Anthony Jeffrey.
The other players are Clive Nobrega, Nathan Moriah Welch, Daniel Wilson, Ryan Hacket, Matthew Briggs, Marcus Wilson, Jeremy Garrett, Jalen Jones, Quincy Adams, Leo Lovell, Akel Clarke, Quillan Roberts and Alex Murray.

Asked about what UK-based players Cox and Danns bring to the team, Shabazz noted that the players are experienced, both at International and Club levels.
“Both of them do a bit of coaching as well. So we were able at times to use them to run sessions and be a positive influence on the lads. You can’t coach experience. Experience is a thing that’s passed on by those who have acquired,” the always confident Shabazz said.

In the days leading up to the clash against Montserrat, Shabazz revealed he would focus on building the team’s cohesiveness and ensuring the players gel together as a unit in defence and attack.
Following their away match against the British overseas territory, Golden Jaguars will return home to face Bermuda on June 7 at the National Track and Field Centre.

Guyana will also play host to Haiti on June 11 and will travel to Port-au-Prince for a return clash against the Haitians on June 14.
The Golden Jaguars will roar once again in the Nations League on March 25, 2023, when they travel to Hamilton to face Bermuda.

Jamaal Shabazz and his troops will close their participation in the second edition of the Nations League with a home game against Montserrat on March 28, 2023.
According to CONCACAF, the Nations League will serve as the qualifier for the 2023 Gold Cup.

At the inaugural CONCACAF Nations League, Guyana, also placed in League B, faced eventual group winners Jamaica, along with Aruba and Antigua & Barbuda.
Golden Jaguars, after home and away fixtures, ended the Group in second place, winning three of their six games played, losing one (against Jamaica) and playing to a draw on two outings on the pitch.

Through their Nations League performance, Guyana will go on to compete in their first Men’s Gold Cup in 2019. It was the country’s first time participating in a senior men’s CONCACAF tournament.

The CONCACAF Nations League was formulated in 2018, to ensure all member associations have the opportunity to compete in more official matches, drive the development of the game and provide a compelling tournament for fans in all parts of the Confederation.