Although they were unable to secure a spot in the FIFA Under- 17 World Cup later this year, Guyana’s national under-17 football team, the Junior Jaguars, ended their CONCACAF U17 Qualifiers campaign with a draw on Sunday; thus, remaining unbeaten.
Captain Mikkel Mills, Goalkeeper Tejpal Nijjar, Kemron Pellew, Joshua Morris, Michael Joseph, Tamer Unver, Quaency Fraser, Shaquan David, Jaden Harris, Max Robinson and Isaiah Ifill were given the nod to start Guyana’s last contest in the tournament against British Virgin Islands at the Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto in Alajuela, Costa Rica.
Guyana had the opportunity to go 1-up early in the encounter when a Quaency Fraser assist gave Jaden Harris a perfectly-positioned ball to head into the goal in the sixth minute. However, the strike was disallowed owing to the offside rule, keeping the score level nil-all.
Guyana’s national U17 team finished the CONCACAF Qualifiers unbeaten
After a lengthy deadlock between the two teams and Guyana being reduced to 10 men owing to a red card in the 44th minute, the Junior Jags managed to break the ice in the 53rd minute when another piece of combination work from Fraser and Harris paid off. This time Fraser sent in the assist from just outside the 18-yard box and Harris finished by volleying the ball into the top-right corner of the net.
The Junior Jags had another opportunity to extend the lead, but Shaquan David missed the net by inches, instead connecting with the crossbar in the 66th minute.
Guyana held on to their lead for the remainder of regulation time, but heartbreakingly, BVI would level the scores in the 90th+1 minute. A build-up in front of the goal and two other attempts from the BVI strikers, resulted in Blake Kirk finding the back of the net with a straight-on shot.
“I’m incredibly proud of these boys and what they’ve accomplished. Going undefeated in a tournament of this magnitude and making history for Guyana is no small feat. They showed heart, resilience, and belief in each other every step of the way. While we fell just short of advancing, this journey has set a new standard for Guyanese football. This is only the beginning,” the team’s Head Coach, Marco Bonofiglio said about their historic performance in the U17 Qualifiers.
Guyana finished the Qualifiers unbeaten with six points and third place in Group B. Trinidad and Tobago were second with seven points from two wins, a draw and a loss while Costa Rica had three wins and their lone draw against Guyana for 10 points.
As such, Costa Rica will be the team from Group B to advance to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar later this year.
