TONIGHT the clash of the ‘big cats’ unravels at the Guyana National Stadium as the home side, Golden Jaguars, take on the Blue Tigers from India in an International Friendly Football match which kicks off at 19:30hrs.
But before the main fixture, Bakewell Topp 20 and Pele will be involved in a FastBall clash from 19.00hrs. This will be the final international friendly showdown before the World Cup Qualifiers for Guyana as they begin their journey for qualification on September 2 against Barbados in the first Group 2 encounter.
The encounter tonight is anticipated to be an intriguing one as India will be looking to bounce back following their 3-0 drubbing by Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in the Twin Island Republic.
Thus far the Caribbean tour for the Asian side has been a tough one. Their loss to T&T followed a fiasco in Barbados which caused them to cancel the Barbados tie and not contest the match.
According to FIFA Agent Fizal Khan, the Blue Tigers are pumped and ready to play with a prediction of victory by at least two goals over the Golden Jaguars. This was revealed yesterday at a press briefing, held at the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) office.
Also present at the briefing was re-elected head coach Jamaal Shabazz who stated that he got a glimpse of the Indian team on Sunday playing against T&T in his country and disclosed that they will be a formidable opponent for Guyana.
Shabazz said that it was a good feeling to be back in Guyana and connecting with some old friends. He went on to say he was able to see the Guyanese side work out for a few sessions which were conducted by assistant coach Wayne Dover.
“The match tomorrow (today) is more of a fact-finder – to answer questions that I have about the team, to see how the local players and foreign players can connect with each other,” Shabazz said.
When questioned about Shabazz’s return he said, “I think there was need for leadership, I have observed that my leadership is better outside Trinidad and also I feel at home in Guyana.”
Speaking to senior Golden Jaguars player Kayode McKinnon, he stated: “my role will be to support the young players and give advice to them because international football is about mental strength, more so discipline to carry out instructions consistently.”
Following the press conference, the Indian team made a courtesy call on Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr Frank Anthony who welcomed the team to his home soil.
Dr Anthony stated that it was a new beginning for Guyana and hoped that they would receive more visits from India not only for football but also for other sports.
He said that at this time Guyana is looking to develop a stronger relationship with India, disclosing that it was the Indian government who handed over a grant of US$19M and a soft loan of US$6M towards the construction at the venue where they will be competing tonight.