Golden Jags “pleased” to end World Cup campaign with 3-0 win over Montserrat

In front of a boisterous group of over 500 spectators, which included Head of State President Dr Irfaan Ali, Guyana’s senior men’s national football team, the Golden Jaguars, brought the curtains down on their 2026 FIFA Men’s Football World Cup quest on Tuesday evening, with a pulsating 3-0 victory against Montserrat at the National Track and Field Center (NTFC), West Coast Demerara (WCD).

For the home fixture, Head Coach Wayne Dover opted for a starting XI that included Captain Nathan Moriah-Welsh, goalkeeper Akel Clarke, Jalen Jones, Romaine Brackenridge, Reiss Greenidge, Kelsey Benjamin, Nathan Ferguson, Curtez Kellman, Osaze De Rosario, Enoch George, and Omari Glasgow.
Both teams started on a positive note, but it was Montserrat who sent the first shot goalwards, with Guyana’s Clarke warding off their advances.
Then in the 35th minute, Ferguson took a chance on a shot from outside the 18-yard box, netting Guyana’s first goal. Just three minutes later, De Rosario fought off a band of defenders after an assist from his Captain to secure Guyana’s second strike.
In the second half, Benjamin provided his second assist of the evening, this time to Glasgow, who needed only to tap the ball into the net for Guyana’s third in the 72nd minute, sending the Guyanese spectators into a frenzy.
Following the encounter, both Head Coach Dover and Captain Moriah-Welsh expressed contentment with the team’s performance.
Dover said, “Winning end, yes, we all prepared our minds and focus to come and get this result so that we could end on a high note. Kinda pleased that we got this result, started a little shaky, but eventually we get into the game and took control. So, I’m very pleased with the performance tonight and the fact that we kept a clean sheet.
“I think it’s a positive to end on a good note after all the hard work for the last two, three years. Obviously, the performance in the last game wasn’t up to standard, but in the end, it’s good to finish on three points and three good goals,” Moriah-Welsh noted.
Reflecting on the difference a better result against Nicaragua could have made for Guyana’s qualifying chances, both the Coach and Captain admitted that there was some lingering disappointment.
“Oh yeah, that was heart-breaking, because we lost that game 1-0. We knew that we don’t have a chance to go forward and you know, it gives us a bad feeling at the end of that whole 90 minutes, but we all know that we have to come back to Guyana and end the season with good results, particularly for the fans and the GFF [Guyana Football Federation], who has made huge investments and the extended people in the nation,” Dover admitted.
Moriah-Welsh shared, “….at the end of the day, it’s on us to perform and we didn’t on the day. You know, we could’ve gone with a draw or even a win at some point. So, we just got to, obviously, regroup for whenever that is and just go again when the time comes.”

While the Golden Jaguars are not likely to have any more international fixtures this year, Dover is focused on rebuilding ahead of the team’s future assignments.
“We saw a very good blend of young players and we want to focus now on our rebuilding process, the fact that we don’t have any football to play for the rest of the year. We got to set ourselves targets and give ourselves at least two years to rebuild this team and then aim to qualify for the Gold Cup and move step by step to A League and then World Cup,” the current Golden Jaguars Head Coach explained.
Panama and Nicaragua, both of whom defeated the Golden Jaguars, are the two teams advancing out of the group to the next round of the World Cup qualifiers.