…as they hunt qualification berth in U-20 Championships
By Jemima Holmes
Guyana’s Under-20 women’s team will find themselves in a tough position today, as only a victory or a draw will be good enough for their survival in the CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championships.
Guyana’s U-20 women’s Head Coach, Paul DeAbreu
Thus far, in the tournament that is being hosted in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Guyana have managed to pull off a 2-0 victory against Honduras and then a crushing 5-0 loss to Mexico two days later. As such, the result of their final Group F Game today against Panama will decide whether or not Guyana is amongst the top three teams in their Group, to qualify for the next round.
As the group currently stands, Mexico leads on six points and one game to go against Honduras, arguably ranking them as the group winners and a shoe-in for the next stage. Guyana, however, sit in number two with just three points and one game to go. While the Lady Jags will play Panama, it is essential for the local team to pick up at least a draw. A loss to Panama will see Guyana’s opponents surpassing them, since Panama currently have one point from a draw against Honduras.
Guyana’s U-20 women’s team in action
With a victory against Mexico for Honduras looking unlikely, Guyana can still remain in the top three, but their fate would completely rest in the hands of Mexico.
Looking at the odds and circumstances under which Guyana can advance to the Round of 16 knockout stage, Head Coach Paul DeAbreu expressed his appreciation of the team’s performance thus far.
The U-20 Lady Jags celebrate during their win over Honduras last Saturday
“To date, our team has been able to demonstrate perseverance. We have come together for the first time, with little time and come out with a victory,” DeAbreu shared.
Admitting that Mexico were mighty opponents for the Lady Jags to come up against, the Head Coach indicated plans to make changes in order to take three points away from today’s game.
“It’s always hard to play Mexico, it’s a challenge. They’re the best team in the Under-20 group; we’re not at the level yet to compete against them, we can only learn from playing teams like this,” he explained.
On today’s game, he added, “Going forward we look to change our formation, style of play as we had three attacking players. We feel confident that we can continue advancing in the tournament.”
Meanwhile, the players in the Guyanese Under-20 team are also keen about what is required of them in today’s game. Audrey Narine, during a post-match interview on Monday night, verbalised plans of regrouping and bouncing back from Monday’s loss.
“We knew it was tough going in and we’re going to grow and learn from this experience and hopefully rebuild as a team for Panama,” Narine shared.
She went on to add, “We’re going to talk to our coach, rebuild as a team, and hopefully get a result out of it.”
Obviously, the Lady Jags are not the only ones who are looking to walk away with a win today, as Panama expect a similar outcome for themselves against Guyana. When quizzed about their match against Guyana, Panama’s Ana Rodriguez was also optimistic about keeping Guyana at bay.
The Panamanian player replied to post-match questions, stating, “With Guyana, we’re going to face it with great enthusiasm and get them out.”
“It’s just between us to work to adjust some spaces,” she concluded.
Guyana are set to take on Panama at 16:00h (4pm) local time today at the Olimpico Felix Sanchez Stadium in Santo Domingo. Should the encounter go any other way than in Guyana’s favour, the Lady Jags will have a heart-wrenching few hours ahead, as they wait for the result of the Mexico-Honduras clash to ascertain their fate in the competition. Mexico versus Honduras is scheduled for a 19:00h (7pm) start tonight.
The next round of the CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championships will take a straight knockout format, featuring the best three teams in the current four groups and another four teams who qualified for the Championships through the U-20 Qualifiers in September 2021.
The first-, second- and third-place finishers in the competition will automatically qualify for FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica from August 10 to 28, 2022.
