International football returns to the National Stadium, Providence, tomorrow evening, when the nation’s
premiere football team, the Golden Jaguars, engage Guatemala, one of the better football teams in Central America, in a friendly football encounter to augment their chances of procuring honours in the second round fixtures of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers slated for later this year.
The local squad will comprise a very strong line-up that includes several overseas based players the likes of charismatic captain, Chris Nurse of Carolina Railhawks, a competent North American Soccer League (NASL) team, Leon Cort and Ricky Shakes who play in England, along with defender John Paul “JP” Rodrigues of NASL side Tampa Bay Rowdies. The latter player is a welcome return to the side after he missed most of the second round qualifying campaign last year due to injury.
The Golden Jaguars will also field such notable players the likes of Gregory ‘Jackie Chan’ Richardson, Anthony ‘Awo’ Abrams, Kayode McKinnon and young star, Trayon Bobb who received great plaudits from coach Shabazz for his efforts during the four game Caribbean tour in several Caribbean countries.
The significance of national side reaching this round is also highlighted by the fact that it is an official FIFA date for 2012 in which 37 other international friendly games will be played around the world. Essentially the Golden Jaguars are playing in the big leagues of world football by FIFA standards.
Tomorrow’s encounter is expected to test the mettle of the local ball weavers especially since the Guatemalans are h
Christopher Nurse
ighly ranked and have defeated several power houses the likes of Mexico, Costa Rica and El Salvador during their quest for honours in their group of the FIFA 2014 World Cup qualifiers. They are expected to provide a stern test for the local team since they are also preparing for their third round qualifying matches against the USA, Jamaica and Antigua and Barbuda.
The Guatemalans will comprise a formidable team led by goal-scorer Carlos Ruiz who has had years of experience playing in Major League Soccer (MLS). He represented such teams as LA Galaxy and FC Dallas and would be joined by mid-field general, Marco Papa of Chicago Fire (MLS) and their most capped player Guillermo Ramirez.
The match is anticipated to be exciting especially since the Guatemalan team will be anxious to enforce their dominance over the local squad. The foreign team have reached the final round of qualifying on four occasions and is definitely a top class unit. Conversely, the Golden Jaguars would attempt to overcome their nemesis in order to send a message to Mexico in their inaugural second round match in that country June 8 next.
Meanwhile, the executives of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) are urging Guyanese to come out in their numbers to support the local team. Such support, reminiscent of that of November 11th, 2011 event when supporters donned yellow jerseys in support of the Golden Jaguars, would serve as the catalyst to another victory and boost the team’s morale.
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